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      "memo": "Sell your votes @ steemegg.com Cold hard steem for your vote..., to purchase a vote send url to @se-app with your post url in the memo."
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      "memo": "❗Hello gerudo, You can contribute to the @roadofrich by voting as a witness. You will receive daily STEEM revenue through Witness vote. Enjoy your day 🙃"
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      "memo": "❗Hello gerudo, You can contribute to the @roadofrich by voting as a witness. You will receive daily STEEM revenue through Witness vote. Enjoy your day 🙃"
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      "memo": "❗Hello gerudo, You can contribute to the @roadofrich by voting as a witness. You will receive daily STEEM revenue through Witness vote. Enjoy your day 🙃"
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      "body": "Congratulations @gerudo! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :\n\n[![](https://steemitimages.com/70x80/http://steemitboard.com/notifications/post4day.png)](http://steemitboard.com/@gerudo) You published 4 posts in one day\n\nClick on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.\nFor more information about SteemitBoard, click [here](https://steemit.com/@steemitboard)\n\nIf you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word `STOP`\n\n> By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how [here](https://steemit.com/steemitboard/@steemitboard/http-i-cubeupload-com-7ciqeo-png)!",
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      "body": "Congratulations @gerudo! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :\n\n[![](https://steemitimages.com/70x80/http://steemitboard.com/notifications/voted.png)](http://steemitboard.com/@gerudo) Award for the number of upvotes received\n[![](https://steemitimages.com/70x80/http://steemitboard.com/notifications/posts.png)](http://steemitboard.com/@gerudo) Award for the number of posts published\n\nClick on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.\nFor more information about SteemitBoard, click [here](https://steemit.com/@steemitboard)\n\nIf you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word `STOP`\n\n> By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how [here](https://steemit.com/steemitboard/@steemitboard/http-i-cubeupload-com-7ciqeo-png)!",
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      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip -  South Korea Busan",
      "body": "Thinking about where next to go after Seoul, I narrowed down the options to BUSAN (2nd biggest city on the South East coast) or JEJU (most southern island). The hostel owner mentioned that JEJU is the most popular domestic destination for Koreans as it’s a beautiful Korean tropical island (similar to Okinawa for Japanese & Hainan for Chinese). Unfortunately, I was right in the middle of the peak season due to some national holidays starting in the end of July; so after looking at the overpriced plane tickets for JEJU; I decided I’ll be better off taking a train to Busan + I would have the option there to eventually take a ferry to Japan.\n\nSouth Korea has a really modern infrastructure so its territory is mainly covered by high speed train called KTX but I was looking for a bargain so I struggled to get a ticket for an old slow train taking 5h00 to go to Busan (about 500km) for about £15 :)\n\nIn the train, I was sitting next to a 13 year old Korean boy who had a decent English (at his age, I was barely able to pronounce a sentence in English)!! and was curious about my whereabouts & background. I showed him some pictures of my trip and told him how wonderful his country is. He was quite interested by the pictures of North Korean soldiers as South Koreans are not allowed to go to the Joint Security Area.\n\nThe train stations along the way were all really modern and around the South of the country, some beautiful mountains were surrounding the tracks.\n\n![Busan 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRwTU1ChebQoPosNizPvCYww4XC8BDJBps7orwXQpMDqn/Busan%201.jpg)\n\nAfter I finally arrived at my destination; as it was late and my hostel far from the subway lines, I took (attempted) a taxi which threw me out as the driver visibly did not seem interested to ride me over there. After some hurdles, I was happy to make it to the hostel right in front of the beach through the public transport.\n\nSpent the next day soaking the atmosphere of this sea side city, visiting a Buddhist temple in the mountains + a Santini like village. In the evening, went out clubbing. I got drunk there really quickly as being the only foreigner around; many young Koreans kept inviting me to sit at their tables and share their drinks.  Wearing Harry Potter like glasses in Korea is really trendy at the moment and that’s what half of the Koreans were wearing in the club, hilarious!\n\n![Busan 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVf5mM9CPkmudD9rY6iRjwWm1WCP6cadkWHMCBetgmQDv/Busan%202.jpg)\n\n![Busan 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbC82YdJMLEThWJiXgsRTdqY1hY18XuEYNdvbk58N6KK7/Busan%203.jpg)\n\n![Busan 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPxCXaBwLwDzbsH558C6M2f2AYiKcFLc44jE22sBDd5fi/Busan%204.jpg)\n\n![Busan 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc64eVojvECrRASP9sB8eGMFSVnfbroBzaRhXXnvKsRTb/Busan%205.jpg)\n\n![Busan 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYDQhaV6LxcaRHjKNMxuZ7GQ8WDREC1H47beJ4vxGZRj3/Busan%206.jpg)\n\n![Busan 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmctvi7FJLsDMnCMNxZzRyjScT1JgPzWteDVZk94zXDD5z/Busan%207.jpg)\n\n![Busan 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWfsXmSBuMuHgvjcjy4HLa1Sn3dE8SFFGb2FPZQJiBGmF/Busan%208.jpg)\n\n![Busan 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSNV9AUjNCC4EKJ26sZN8fSiYZjfij7SZ1uPwN5eJ7bTX/Busan%209.jpg)\n\nOn Saturday was my first typhoon experience, Typhoon Nakri was sweeping through all of South Korea and from the moment I stepped outside at 8AM and came back at 23H00 heavy rain was pouring non-stop.  That’s when I decided to visit a traditional Korean spa, also called jjimjilbang. I went to the most fancy in Busan (about £8 for 4 hours).The baths/hot springs are segregated by gender while the jjimjilbang floor is for everyone and contains amenities such as sauna, sleeping area, hairdresser, O2 capsules, PC room, karaoke room, Cinema room, massage, restaurant,  bar, etc… Many Koreans use Jjimjilbang as a cheap hotel where whole families would be just sleeping on the heated floor.  In the baths, locals are naked (compulsory) and being a foreigner is not a good excuse. Coming from a Latin country, I had a hard time convincing myself to do it the Korean way but that’s another example when travelling alone can be really handy as it did not have to do it around people I knew J It was actually to my surprise a really good experience and I wonder why these establishments are not more widespread. The level of service offered in these establishments is absolutely outstanding and many Koreans are going there on a daily basis after work to relax.\n\n![Busan 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQrutHzaVxVehEayWtNsZUXLyB15h8qeeYBGzPzk2qRbA/Busan%2010.jpg)\n\n![Busan 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc1JFu5HMumeR2f5tpF1LMfonw6r4mQ9KRYa3oFfbHD8j/Busan%2011.jpg)\n\nThinking about a way to escape the ongoing typhoon in South Korea, I decided to move on to Japan. I had no idea when starting my Trans-Siberian trip that I would go to South Korea and Japan. I’m now just making up my travels plan as I go! Going by ferry and by plane was about the same price, but since I’m not in a hurry and it’s been years I haven’t stayed on a ferry; I felt a 19 hours ferry trip to Osaka was a good adventure.  Unfortunately, the website of the company operating these tours was only in Korean & Japan but with the help of a friendly girl at the hotel; I was put through an English speaking operator over the phone to book my ticket. I just had to provide my passport details and come to pick up (and so pay later ?!!) my ticket. On the next day, at the ferry terminal I met an old Korean “English interpreter volunteer” who I befriend and started to tell me some interesting stories about the Korean war (1950-1953). He learned English via the American marines during and after the war.  He recalled how afraid he was when he saw for the first time a black American soldier.\n\nSouth Korea on the contrary of China have really good relationship with USA as they are grateful that thanks to the American contribution to the war, they are not now on the “wrong side” of the border.\n\nTrying now on the ferry to sort out what to do and see in Osaka :)\n\n![Busan 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXESZQ8n5J6Bde1CJqHd87NdDdN6apLeyXkCQ7fe8C861/Busan%2012.jpg)\n\nSome random videos of South Korea :\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVWp93Ri-z0",
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      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "first-day-in-moscow",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - Russia Moscow",
      "body": "It’s my second time in Moscow but I’m still amazed by the city. Everywhere remnant of the Soviet times. Moscow is one of the few cities in the world, where you would actually visit the Metro (tube). Many have been built under the Stalin’s period and have remained untouched.  They were used as well as a bomb shelter during the war and considering how deep the stations are, they must have been quite effective .  When I compared it against Paris or London Metro, I can't help but admire it.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmf945H6jxMNCHnYD8Ero3vtmVeQfXfJwdMT3A6z8FRiVx/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeywPpES1CXq13C4Fsf6EitKUwJWizGf1NUwaFq5CifyK/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYMoQbQrTAvwSwY1YtVCi4xPj3nuyrocVfbqxQz1NLeSK/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXjgVzNHXRvgEYjfvFHFsEu3mDzEcjCo6wjbuGqNAJFzh/image.png)!\n\nWalking on the famous Red Square or within the Kremlin Wall is quite unimpressive .  Hard to imagine that this place witnessed the major events of the Russian & European history: 1917 Revolution,  Stalin’s famous speech on 1941 while the German invaders were at Moscow doors. It’s quite incredible to see that Stalin has been buried under the Red Square under a statue of himself decorated with flowers. Next there is a mausoleum of Lenin where you can still see his body ! It’s an impressive sight. Turns out some scientist took Lenin brain in order to find out what made him a “genius” but they were unable to see anything special …\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmS1yjBDjie6yBhZTAd8wPXppyfwAoGzmMTSg4ksuiSW3X/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmceUXcZXN261ALoxyh2zLGoB5g5uq1yzhNyG7PMxzN6dA/image.png)\n\nIn many discussion with Russians and by observing carefully, you realize that Russians are really proud about their history. WW2 is called the Great Patriotic War and you can see many statues and posters commemorating that period.  They like to tell you how mighty they are and that they beat Germany all by themselves, but don’t try to raise the fact that Stalin was a great buddy with Hitler until the 1941 invasion ..\n\nI walked past a museum and they had temporary exhibition for the 200 years of the 1812 French invasion by Napoleon, which is still there 2 years later … Managed to sneak in a French speaking tourist groups where the Russian guide was basically explaing how great and smart Napoleon is but Russian were just superior.  She pointed out that Russians won the Battle of Borodino which seems contradictory with my history books !!",
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      "author": "cheetah",
      "permlink": "cheetah-re-gerudoyekaterinburg-trans-siberian-trip",
      "title": "",
      "body": "Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:\nhttp://www.trans-mongolian-trip.com/",
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      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "yekaterinburg-trans-siberian-trip",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - Russia Yekaterinburg",
      "body": "My 30 hours train journey was quite an experience. I’ve never imagined I could stay so long in a train.  I was on a 2nd class where they stick 4 bed in a small compartment. I had a German couple in my compartment who are travelling for a full year !\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPTjB94XEVh1VyEuLxW7MkbMo7B3Qg6d5E3BnkVQQiAAP/image.png)\n\nThe atmosphere was quite friendly, mainly families, some Russian music being played and a provodnik who is a Russian lady from the train company: PRD in charge of the compartment. If you want to have a pleasant ride, it’s better to keep her sweet. One way to do so is to buy the overpriced snacks she sells (50 Roubles for a Twix ??!) or smile stupidly at anything she tells you (only in Russian of course). She spends a great time hoovering the carpet and make sure everything is tidy.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYvqd9xVigW6PUrUb5ExTaCdkmhXV563pzdVZXHQPfgWe/image.png)\n\nThere was an hot water machine in the compartment and it seems all the Russians in the carriage managed to cook noodles (and drink) from it while poor foreigners were left to survive on our biscuits purchased in Moscow or faced hefty food charges on the train restaurant.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcGNidc4165xKGdaocmfStSYcWB8immSkWBFutQKAF3rs/image.png)\n\nThe landscape was forest after forest intertwined with some villages.  I finally arrived in Yekaterinbourg,  and found my hostel not without pain, luckily a Russian woman in the street came to my rescue and explained me how to get to my destination .. in Russian. I’m really happy that I got this 600 rubles (£12)  Russian SIM card in Moscow for 1Gb of data.  Google Maps + GPS can be really handy when you can’t easily read the street signs.  I’m quite amazed that I had to go to Russia to use for the first time 4G LTE on my Nexus 5 phone.  The 4G coverage in Russia is great in the main cities. The first thing I’ve done after arriving in Yekaterinbourg was to go to the local huge Greenwich Mall  and do a tour of the supermarket. The choice of food and drinks was great and I was surprised that once you pass the till,   there are young students whose job is to pack the articles for you (you get anasty look from them if you try to do it yourself). Russians have a great sense of customer service, Tesco should try to emulate.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdSz2ePvbkq8cjdnhspU378zgHWipx5kfg9cvdXujFLgi/image.png)\n\nRandom pictures from Yekaterinburg:\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV5bHPEzrhn1paLYP8yRsZoMYVJpG9meBbfceQLkeG7v1/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcPo1vdMgzjPGGuxc3QLNfccuCs7jMJdeZSPfijLBEGXA/image.png)\n\n![IMG_20140612_112251.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTtWHZWVUAkLTMTT3iawqs8xxUqSYBczwT9Y8S8wPcKNo/IMG_20140612_112251.jpg)\n\n![IMG_20140612_170159.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPZyoUaRB9v8cs6tJHSb1QCqTfygDNXmTYTeNXnWUp3PK/IMG_20140612_170159.jpg)\n\n![IMG_20140612_152305.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZMcLKxVT5HQRc3r4GsQJ19o7TfpnDy7awr1kGLcRhtCD/IMG_20140612_152305.jpg)\n\n![IMG_20140611_170243.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmau91V5BWx5HUV8bM77R7BEVqw7P1PGaKibqziFXNhLug/IMG_20140611_170243.jpg)\n\n![IMG_20140612_100143.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTG4u4Yw4j53WJNjcjkwsgLwCEw7J2Gjf5F6xfKx5urXw/IMG_20140612_100143.jpg)\n\n![IMG_20140612_150228.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSonkNiSWHkFLVbaqazMXoQ8zXRQYykMcsXPbuKhW7CNs/IMG_20140612_150228.jpg)\n\nMy few days stay were quite rainy. I was impressed by the difference of temperature from one day: 15°C to 28°C. Anyway, I left Yekaterinburg with some regrets to start my 50 hours journey across Siberia.",
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      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "siberia",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - Russia Siberia",
      "body": "My 50 hours train ride was quite an experience !  I was staying in a new (=post-communist) train model called Firmeny which had the luxury of 1 electrical outlet in every compartment and the Provotnik was bringing over lunch to the compartment.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdAu8YvPX14CTMW1pH7jTfe8ceMuYhzZsrknExmonYHoY/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWGW5dZxrRTsBCuqeaGW93Vgod43WqZs1wA1idrj3DNJG/image.png)\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmU7rdAYd6U5riYLX1BAuvmSf9YJzNcFHATNDdV24DDYQW/image.png)\n\nAs the train was moving forward, there were less and less signs and civilization and increasingly  taiga landscapes all around and more than 8 hours between stations at some point !\n\nThe train suddenly broke down in the middle of nowhere. They struggled to fix it and I was getting increasingly worried when looking at no man’s land outside but then the train went back on track more than 1H00 later and it still managed to arrive in Irkutsk train station exactly at 20H57 more than 50 hours later as per the ticket !\n\nOn the second leg of my trip, I was with a russian oil engineer (designing pump). His English was really basic so we made extensive use of Google Translate to discuss, the problem being that we were loosing regularly signal as we were in the middle of Siberia. I found out that at 25 years old, he was making about 3000 USD/month working for the Russian Oil Company and was spending his time travelling all over Siberia. China signed recently a huge Energy contract with Russia and seems like business is booming.\n\nA Russian/Siberian boy suddenly came to my compartment and when I told him in Russian that I was from France, he started acting hysterical like I was the 7th wonder of this world and kept touching me , in an extatic manner.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUvXN8iMWsU5Eq7Xcw7X6FPQWwfW7xo5hNn6NU3mbWH4b/image.png)\n\nI arrived in Irkutsk exhausted, finding my hostel quickly. The next day, I went straight to the Baikal lake which is the world largest freshwater lake in the world. The closest town is Listvyanka and although quite touristic, is beautiful. The local markets were selling smoked “Omul” which is a variety of fish only existing on the Baikal lake and is quite tasty!\n\nWhile walking along the shores, I bumped into a French TV crew who were shooting a documentary about the biggest lakes in the world for Arte (French Documentary Channel).  They had 2 weeks all expenses paid with interpret just for a few minutes of documentary about the Baikal lake (total movie will be 52 min including documentary).  I envy their job.\n\nI then took a 30 min boat to Bolshoie Koty which is at the center of the National park. The ride was epic, pure water.  \n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eliNoHNxBo\n\nWe had 4 hours to explore the village and it absolutely took my breath away. From one side of the village, one of the most beautiful lake in the world, the other side  mountains and taiga forest. It was really quiet, houses with beautiful wooden sculptures and animals such as Cow and horses just wandering the streets of the village.  A world away from the rush of London life ..\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmf5ExnweBsQBXB8Lzyv1pAkjmAKop9T24MsXFFixaPrma/image.png)\n\n![IMG_20140616_124904.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWWc66YfrMsk7K32qU4kak1hCi4LVMaS5Q2wuPAqo9mqr/IMG_20140616_124904.jpg)\n\n![IMG_20140617_131502.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV4VUtjZ36WQKAi9n1urYGhqg5EZZvshJBeUpLBCzerZY/IMG_20140617_131502.jpg)\n\n![P1000291.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdUQ6WNxBCs6PQGMAMALU1RG8cDZVkgAARYHwEDY6914s/P1000291.jpg)\n\n![P1000292.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNz3VsBYiXMq3sKsGFN9QaoZQ1qaLJGYjSwjYWdZbVA6a/P1000292.jpg)\n\n![P1000298.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTsCzsXTXL1pgZ2bEQdM6EMPgQEb9tNU1tVgXamk3noii/P1000298.jpg)\n\n![P1000306.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZrgwyMNZGW2xC4QV35vG7Lu2ELHRKn8hpoGAMoWWBhSs/P1000306.jpg)\n\n![P1000309.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUU2McbX4n4RweNdCkEdbVWN1XGPhrqX6w8BXaSk8XASa/P1000309.jpg)\n\n![P1000311.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXhJo3SaWChSoh8wDpQLW3D6Yer9ApzudCyAsf8Pgni4N/P1000311.jpg)\n\n![P1000312.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRnyPAj5gGAruycEzriEcyXESYKRcwczM2GDrx5RShFMz/P1000312.jpg)\n\n![P1000316.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW5tMpW2kryqEe1GzwpzPSRekJCe87ND2oz9xXYXRU3He/P1000316.jpg)\n\n![P1000319.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYaCnPmZtxT4vZsHLMZzGpJknZYfe4jtqkPeGTHct9ZW8/P1000319.jpg)\n\n![P1000320.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXkVXgXVdyLEm69rZBdtyFLqbWHMyZxG2RujiikFookbN/P1000320.jpg)\n\n![P1000322.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRk11NXSDaNCCDcbApPqtrFgkXkSifqLfLtQUZyYDLkt3/P1000322.jpg)\n\n![P1000324.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmar2Yzm5WSxBCdpqByNfKx69gMbnbJyQASaqBxYA4geFF/P1000324.jpg)\n\n![P1000325.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTDKvnnENLTUukzv2vSGhjfa4PBjJpS87nc4hpxtHY1Xd/P1000325.jpg)\n\n![P1000326.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdiU1a9NQr9eNWeBy6TBf2dL8Sd4nVWa6uXdxppqby6QV/P1000326.jpg)\n\n![P1000331.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbVr4c2U99MsUck1hdDSN9pgk3oaQSt2KXxaZmz3jMc6t/P1000331.jpg)\n\n(https://steemitimages.com/DQmcyRYUH12GH9aAQxYCmTdYqJ7iheVVTvWDn1hyykqvykj/P1000333.jpg)\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmF_q0d688M![P1000333.jpg]",
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  "timestamp": "2017-08-11T16:26:33",
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    {
      "parent_author": "",
      "parent_permlink": "travel",
      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "mongolia-trans-mongolian-trip",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - Mongolia",
      "body": "I took the train out of Irkutsk on Friday 19/06 at 22H02, due to arrive on Sunday 21 at 05H03 in the capital of Mongolia: Ulan-Baator, about 30 hours later.\n\nI shared my compartment with a 60 years old Israeli man, doing as well the Trans-Mongolian journey.  He spent about 25 years working as a self-employed sales man, retiring comfortably at the age of 50 and been travelling frequently since then to pass the time. The things he has seen and done was absolutely amazing and I am glad I left the office as it’s giving me opportunity to meet interesting people who found ways to enjoy their lives rather than spending it working.\n\nA great thing about Trans-Mongolian rail trip is that you end up living with some new persons for 30 to 50 hours with nothing much to do so you share your life stories and at the end of the journey it’s like you have known them for years.\n\nWe stopped at the border on the Russian side. Took about 5 hours just to complete the paperwork. This little border town was filled with young Russian soldiers visibly bored in their duty to protect the border with Mongolia.\n\nThe train then moved on and after crossing the border, Mongol solders and officials stepped in the train to check the passports. I was shocked to be greeted with smiles and “Welcome to Mongolia” talk, it was light years away from the cold dealings with Russian officials I dealt with over the past 2 weeks.\n\nAs the train is moving to his destination, the landscape around does no feature anymore taiga/trees but kilometres of vast steppes with hundred of animals, tents (ger) and sometimes horse riders moving casually along the tracks .   I’ve noticed that having crossed the border, people faces look so different (Central Asian rather than Caucasian type).\n\n![Mongolia-1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXYJL7jTB9ioyVQciwYBbMvUJ5KmwMSZsr288UYZb3BF4/Mongolia-1.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbUXp1BL41UPEuLMEkYj6s3XJy34D38oNQdRib1gHg7su/MOngolia-2.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeDNChK6VMPi6TMDewTaSDz4fPbsHKiRkLPjBZFHxDZ9x/MOngolia-3.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaprGLsSRK41FZz4GWCCUxw14RvxF4wceZPCb79Pfs7ri/MOngolia-4.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdwBNY6RRT3BzYE8g6wfzaCsMEDAed9QEh2EWU5rQf28t/MOngolia-5.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTLoEBhfMGrprDCsJsWe9Mutm4tTfyGfxWXcFKSb7b3xY/MOngolia-6.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQjFi1knSMjjHPsAGPD57sdNrQg9aJ4ss4cYrbVfnbgRd/MOngolia-7.jpg)\n\nUpon arrival to UB (Ulan Bator), I went straight to my hostel. I met there a young Israeli backpacker whose life problem was to find where to buy a horse to ride solo up to the border and through Siberia to Irkutsk (so hundred of kilometers). I realized that whatever I could do, there would be always someone doing something more adventurous! I booked a 4 days tour in the country side starting the next day and so went to explore UB. It’s not particularly a beautiful city and it looks like a typical soviet time urban landscape I’m used to.\n\nI found out that Mongolian are people really proud of their history, there are many references all over the place of the time of Gengis Khan and Mongol empire: from the currency, street name, statues, beers, museums etc.. Gengis Khan is a national hero and the cruelty of the Mongol invasions in the thirteen century seems slightly overlooked.\n\nComing back at the hostel, I met a French bacpacker who has been travelling for nearly a year, using volunteering opportunities. He came back from 3 weeks in a Mongol farm where he had to sleep and work rough, including butchering animals but nevertheless he found the experience quite positive.\n\nNext day, I’m ending up in a 4×4 with a Finnish couple, a guide and a non-English speaking driver on my way out of UB for some proper life with the nomads. The roads outside the capital are just 2 lanes road and seems to go straight without any end in sight.  The roads in Mongolia are the worst I have seen in my life, the driver spent his time zigzaging between the 2 lanes due to sheer amount of potholes and in some occurrences no road at all !  The landscape around was absolutely beautiful, just hundred of animals (goats, cow, horses, sheep, etc..) moving freely around, often right in the middle of the road and horsemen looking after their herds.\n\n![MOngolia-8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTvJxUABNJp8HvdDjyCX48ziF5dNYNHNGRW1B6A2FPjZj/MOngolia-8.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmU4mr2RUHPUvKYqJ7JdLA6pNxEFbX3Tt7Wuupote3cNcJ/MOngolia-9.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaR73LYBqu2177USBH2YqZmzKPyC3M1SvrKakhhUZuZUm/MOngolia-10.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQE7NWYoKAHcuy69hjPViEQte3MrPBewgem9752X36egF/MOngolia-11.jpg)\n\n![MOngolia-12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXezRcJExvbMKFkVDqirfNeftCKGoaYxep1iAdVoC6RQ9/MOngolia-12.jpg)\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4eh480eEk\n\nArriving in the nomad camp, we had a ger waiting for us (traditional Mongolian tent) in a breathtaking surrounding. No shower and toilets traditional (hole in the ground). On the first night, the local men were doing signs that they wanted to wrestle with me (it’s a national sport).  I had a go at it and after biting the dust few times, I lowered my ambition in staying on my feet as long as possible. It seems after this, I was well integrated with the nomads. So In Russia, you need to drink to make friends but here in Mongolia you need to wrestle!\n\nI spent the next days doing horse & camel riding and trekking to temple (I discovered that this species of camel like to spit on you when they don’t know you).\nThe food was great, mainly based of sheep meat. The chief of the family was 75 years old and I was amazed how fresh & happy he was. He spent a nomad life with his animals, tents & family in a beautiful landscape. I envy  him as the 4 days I spent there were some of the most relaxing and inspiring I had for years. It seems a much more healthy lifestyle than taking the tube to commute to work every day.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVUKM6w4MgsGHcDMefsx6xtEwxmuNmwkdN29END1ZVmky/image.png)\n\nI’m going back with sighs to the capital and spent time exploring the nightlife .  We found out there was some sort of law where the pub & clubs are meant to close at midnight when the police arrived at the pub at 00H30. Music stopped, the pub owner went outside with the police and 20 min later (after some cash changing hands) the music resumed. Mongolia has some corruption challenges . Nowpreparing my arrival to Beijing on Monday 30 June.\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4eh480eEk",
      "json_metadata": "{\"tags\":[\"travel\",\"mongolia\",\"trans-mongolian\"],\"image\":[\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmXYJL7jTB9ioyVQciwYBbMvUJ5KmwMSZsr288UYZb3BF4/Mongolia-1.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmbUXp1BL41UPEuLMEkYj6s3XJy34D38oNQdRib1gHg7su/MOngolia-2.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmeDNChK6VMPi6TMDewTaSDz4fPbsHKiRkLPjBZFHxDZ9x/MOngolia-3.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmaprGLsSRK41FZz4GWCCUxw14RvxF4wceZPCb79Pfs7ri/MOngolia-4.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmdwBNY6RRT3BzYE8g6wfzaCsMEDAed9QEh2EWU5rQf28t/MOngolia-5.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmTLoEBhfMGrprDCsJsWe9Mutm4tTfyGfxWXcFKSb7b3xY/MOngolia-6.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmQjFi1knSMjjHPsAGPD57sdNrQg9aJ4ss4cYrbVfnbgRd/MOngolia-7.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmTvJxUABNJp8HvdDjyCX48ziF5dNYNHNGRW1B6A2FPjZj/MOngolia-8.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmU4mr2RUHPUvKYqJ7JdLA6pNxEFbX3Tt7Wuupote3cNcJ/MOngolia-9.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmaR73LYBqu2177USBH2YqZmzKPyC3M1SvrKakhhUZuZUm/MOngolia-10.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmQE7NWYoKAHcuy69hjPViEQte3MrPBewgem9752X36egF/MOngolia-11.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmXezRcJExvbMKFkVDqirfNeftCKGoaYxep1iAdVoC6RQ9/MOngolia-12.jpg\",\"https://img.youtube.com/vi/ac4eh480eEk/0.jpg\",\"https://steemitimages.com/DQmVUKM6w4MgsGHcDMefsx6xtEwxmuNmwkdN29END1ZVmky/image.png\"],\"links\":[\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4eh480eEk\"],\"app\":\"steemit/0.1\",\"format\":\"markdown\"}"
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  "timestamp": "2017-08-11T16:26:09",
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    {
      "parent_author": "",
      "parent_permlink": "travel",
      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-beijing",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - China Beijing",
      "body": "The train from Ulan-Bator to Beijing was the worst I have experienced during this trans-siberian journey.  Train was dirty, little comfort & the staff was smoking openly in the carriage (cigarettes are dirt cheap here, about 1£ for a pack and government does not care ).\n\nBorder crossing was quite an experience. Train stopped at some small border town. Loudspeakers were playing some sort of Chinese patriotic music and we saw about 50 border guards literally running out of the train station and line up perfectly in front of each door of every compartment to make sure nobody could run away.\n\nPassport control was rough, no English at all and they started to panic and scream when the headcount was not matching the number of customs duty forms they had. After this disagreement, the train moved on revealing Chinese soldiers posted every 50m apart on each side of the rail, by night and without moving a finger.\n\nThis was quite a good first glimpse of China: China is a really secure country.  To get into the country, you need as part of the Visa application to detail your full itinerary trip day by day, including where you will sleep, what you will see & do + the train/planes details for internal travels.  You can’t check in anywhere without your passport (which they will scan thoroughly), you can’t buy a train ticket without your passport (which will be scanned again, only locals can use the ticket machines where they need to scan their electronic id-card ..)+  in any subway station throughout the countries;  there is airport type security where they are scanning your bags and you must in front of the security guards open all of your bottles and drink some of the contents to prove you won’t harm anyone with it.\n\nAnyway, after moving, the train ended up in some kind of hangar where they literally lift up the whole train to change the boogies as the rail track width is different between China & Mongolia. Amazing experience.\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq19PRwGPUk\n\nIn the morning, as I got closer to Beijing; we were passing through mountains, rivers to finally arrive in the capital. As soon as I step out of the train, I was surrounded by thousand of Chinese heading towards the same direction.  I knew China had a large population but I would never have imagined there would be so many Chinese in China ! The air outside was heavy and warm , probably because of the pollution. Drinking water like crazy.\n\n![Beijing 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQBQFMf7Mrnm6VQZawgSu9zdV4hwYvpHn59NW5vSrqRST/Beijing%201.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcCKicgXp7eapPASjy6h7Sj82zfhwtW36gReL9iaLc4wL/Beijing%202.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQVwVwfkHZTcWUBkMcYnR5mSMSHCE4kAipA92cTTTKnKo/Beijing%203.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW5K9wHeSeNvEFm99oGSwb6WPzkcZP554XHRdXbZaBvuf/Beijing%204.jpg)\n\nTried to buy a subway ticket station, 45 min queue. I have never seen such a big queue. On my way to the hostel, I can already feel the pressure and stress of a city hosting more than 20 million inhabitants. Chinese everywhere, people & traffic jam, noise, pollution. no understanding at all of the writing & language, suffocating temperature & humidity but I arrived in a good mood at the hostel.  In my dorm, young Chinese graduate from the countryside coming to Beijing to land their first job. They are quite enthusiastic to see a Westerner (“French ? Awww, Romantic !!”)) and I ended up going through many photo sessions with them.\n\nNext day, went to hike on the great wall. Impressive, at the time when in Middle ages; we were just in Europe building Cathedrals and a few Castles; Chinese civilization was able to build 20000km of massive wall over mountains. Climbing it in Summer was really physical and tiring, with many locals selling over-priced water at every fort to prevent the looming dehydration.\n\n![Beijing 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXk1ukCtDEwXAjrcFSxFQfysjkfHRN7rKstPLepL1vqCN/Beijing%205.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNVoo31euhyYi7ohfVq9N6fynsvC2k8YfbrFGuc7tnCLG/Beijing%206.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQArWqtqeSa3dHe4sHrYaLEiPXLHhR31RPNNVKBR2fytx/Beijing%207.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcQUjpdbV9udSmcPUhvxYxV9pH77zaaqZ7gNXN2HuyHEv/Beijing%208.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfZYYup9vNzjEhPUkW2CuddMJ9GDEjys3j2osaxD9rRjs/Beijing%209.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQWxFKnd3BtJwuCcNavmdx95fQCDMLd2u6yqfisUZxQYc/Beijing%2010.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVd2cuzqtp1Qnd9w4mobNHJpJDRfebWPNpUPR3mRJWUbG/Beijing%2011.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcdKA5jXfFLeCEFqM5uVR7AWQsTuNdaGhX2F3kerTNQ3G/Beijing%2012.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmenGLxppBVzwrCsR9QcBwhgdMNAJt8kPiJdVQjJn9r4bq/Beijing%2013.jpg)\n\nSpent about 1 week in Beijing, visiting the different sights. 1 thing I will always remember is that during that week, I haven’t seen the sky a single time and as a matter of fact anything further than 300m around me. Behind the forbidden city, I climbed onto a hill where you could basically not even see the large forbidden city & Tien Anmen square due to the air pollution. It seems the locals accept it as they are used to not see the sky and they only see Chinese movies on TV, but I really wonder how much health issues can arise from this pollution.\n\nCommunicating is extremely though as no one speaks English. Furthermore, customer service is really poor. The Chinese market is so large (over a billion) than unless you are really rich, they don’t care much about you as a customer in most of the restaurants & Taxi experiences I had.  Beijing is  a crowded city and going from one place to another can takes literally 2 hours due to congestion. Not having an overly good impression of the city, luckily I met Bonny; a Chinese English teacher who helped me during that week and made my experience of Beijing more enjoyable (by being able to communicate with English speaking people). She works for a company preparing Chinese students to TOEFL tests so as to be able to be accepted in US universities. Thanks to the one child policy, Chinese parents are doing everything they can for the kid to have the best education, including paying 200$/hour for English classes!\n\n![Beijing 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSUx3ENFBUqN1Q8ywnjSd6My452cSCHhumagAPq55AggM/Beijing%2014.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUxZXzFenxrqrzAjd563SxZD4odeNeaMgZkNxAYCFfBzU/Beijing%2015.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 16.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZPfyRvTP7dMMxS7vWt5UgYM1tip9xMBt4mHSHbnyLruc/Beijing%2016.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 17.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX884wsgVrKiiZTXTD2aiCVPsFuJE4AiKaXhrRA9hgnFi/Beijing%2017.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 18.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTFjQyjgza5d9ixGhnZZyUdLMVPBmKppjz56sgEQ2QVqE/Beijing%2018.jpg)\n\n![Beijing 19.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPVjXYfJ4vuebby6wAdi2Zbwmwp5eUSEWmotms1r1Z9Z1/Beijing%2019.jpg)\n\nAfter 1 week, had enough and boarded a fast Chinese train to Shanghai (over 1000 km in 5 hours, including stops)",
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  "timestamp": "2017-08-11T16:25:09",
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      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-shanghai",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - China Shanghai",
      "body": "I came to realize my blog was lagging behind my trip through China. There are several reasons for it:\n\n1: Facebook, Youtube & Google services are blocked which makes it more challenging to publish content on the blog\n\n2: My days and evenings are really busy; I’m seeing and doing so much that I’m losing motivation to write.\n\nAnyway, that post will be about Shanghai. I had high expectations when getting there: Shanghai is meant to be mainland China’s most international city. In truth, I would spot in the streets about 10-15 Westerners a day in this city of 20 million inhabitants. There were a bit more Chinese understanding English but not that many! The city is really modern and filled with skyscrapers. I was happy on my first day to see the sky after 1 week in Beijing, it only lasted a day but I had enough time to take some good shots. The financial center of Shanghai is impressive and you can really feel the area is splashed with cash.\n\n![Shanghai 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXzrz58crp6UtFP2crnaz7yURmy1WNNF2hqPhRZciAwjs/Shanghai%201.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT8u4fiW1Rr4NNLnvseezgmKhxwykGCevE6NmLKUiyVsh/Shanghai%202.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbgbkxne584L9VtZ87mH4qb3419Br8hQWgkRpBgB7F35y/Shanghai%203.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZFiH6paZUj4XVRu4pZiboLYK9CsytSNkru9XhN7xVbkq/Shanghai%204.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmerFUm9woVp1FjH1TuW8ZUnbKpi7RPnL75qubT8L2sJxC/Shanghai%205.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVhzMoX47Sv1m5pVmdzhxkfWu3UEsqbpDRfkenRx8XCPb/Shanghai%206.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSrw2ujxerirVZSB451nhnLgRGKA1f6Py8tXBTzySENpi/Shanghai%207.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbqKdt72R1Q1YWJ6uWeMtTbS3UG4EquDEEuQBECNcmQCi/Shanghai%208.jpg)\n\nEverywhere I go, modern high-rise buildings, Chinese with fancy clothes and cars. In Europe, China is being described as developing country but anything I see here, from the infrastructures, buildings, luxury shops and locals spending power makes me questioned whether I’m coming from a developed country. The mood here is really upbeat and future keeps getting brighter; light years away from continental Europe surviving on cheap credit/low interest rates.\n\nI headed towards the former French concession of Shanghai (which was French up to the 40’s). I loved the area, the streets were lined up with old trees, providing shelter from the sun and had some lovely parks; all of it as any typical French boulevards. You can there walk without having to spend your time in people jams like most of the Chinese cities (probably not many Chinese can afford to live in this district).\n\nIt’s so warm outside that nobody uses dryer, clothes hanging all over the place even on electrical wire!\n\nOn the first night, I went to the riverbank. I was approached by a pretty Chinese girl asking for help taking a picture of her. I obliged, then she chatted me up and took me to visit a Tea Ceremony. The ceremony was nice and tea I drunk really tasty but the bill too: 1200 renmibi (about £120)! I managed to reduce the cost to £50 by only paying my share and left thinking that the standard of living in Shanghai might be really high if locals could afford so expensive tea. Over the next days, I was approached several times by Chinese tourists with a perfect English asking me if I wanted to join them to a tea ceremony. I started to wonder .. and I Googled Tea Ceremony Shanghai in Google: SCAM !!! A pretty good one I would say\n\nI met a local named Anfia and went to spend the weekend visiting Hangzhou. Unfortunately, It was really rainy and going around in that city as you need to catch taxy which are in limited quantity so competition is fierce, especially when heaving tropical rain is pouring all over the place !\n\n![Shanghai 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNyRv8n7nSBcdn3p5M1x68MeByAZ3dMRUHa1ZYde9kqvK/Shanghai%2010.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTvZWCZQp1CFvo6861AC83vvueS85bSpt8vq8yyuyKUs9/Shanghai%2011.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTAxJHmiD7zJgafyJirtnjjWNWvWe4L3QbQCp8BnHXRTD/Shanghai%2012.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcwMPMthyFFwkhxfJAbt3qZf1oW1vZ1tkCngUDSZ9vUQ7/Shanghai%2013.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPPR3GNvoZm4oXRtRW9XPccSpRVyrkG4AYnAaXHF1Tnmp/Shanghai%2014.jpg)\n\nRandom Video:\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmZhdtrQqD8\n\nTook on Tueday 15 an high speed train to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province; hoping to escape the humidity on the coastline.",
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      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-sichuan",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - China Sichuan province",
      "body": "I arrived in Sichuan by night considerably pleased with the (slightly) lower temperature of Western China. The train ride was pleasant as further it was going West, the less buildings/skyscrapers I would see until the landscape turn onto just blue sky, rice paddies and mountains.\n\nThe capital, Chengdu has a completely different feel from the cities of Eastern China. Finally, I’m able to use public transports, walk in the streets without spending my time avoiding bumping into thousand of Chinese passing by all day long.\n\nI went the second night to a traditional mask changing show which was amazing. In the blink of an eye, the actors were wearing new masks and it seems to be a skill really difficult to acquire.\n\nSpent a lot of time going around tasting the famous spicy Sichuan Food . Hotpot is one of them.  You have basically a pool on your table divided between a spicy and a bit less spicy area where hot sauce is boiling then you order a lot of  raw meat and order dishes you will leave into the pool according to your taste.\n\nSichuan province is as well famous for being the home of panda. It’s a tradition in China to give away panda to foreign allies/friendly countries as a sign of friendship. After spending a few hours watching them, I figure out they are really cute but the most lazzy animals I have encountered !\n\n![Chengdu 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc5HiCy2mao77yrRsJhRQTv5QYNx3aufdUa7zkZqN4sHz/Chengdu%202.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUGq2fNNLSsqowy7xPS658qFrkj2Nwrfo3vwtzYeutKJB/Chengdu%203.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPdTSgc44rmwvv8hA7RPfgNdbked7soH4RYgBPmxU24DX/Chengdu%204.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYeBfR5ZPThiZceg1N3ud2XbEN3igu2qxc1Xz4TCZxmeV/Chengdu%205.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmP3oo9SKU9FUSsTiDVpq35sBXFN7TFJ8sxmYQGJ42xxeH/Chengdu%206.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaYKdWmQPsjrYhQt7ATo6YFetk8djSb6jQQrYxX1jsy3R/Chengdu%207.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY3Xq5xvDADrb99ZMabTr5C6rFtChZg7G3vfp76owLfRx/Chengdu%208.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmamFLjQTBF9pKi888XJbWkD32ySE6y95k1GWMmyx2SjNA/Chengdu%209.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRpFWBvUjdDRYZpRq7mBKig5Q5h6PEhAbgpEqcdPQbEaV/Chengdu%2010.jpg)\n\nLooking for some nature, I took a 9 hours bus to the Mountains of Sichuan near Tibet to Jizhaigou National Park. Park was beautiful but while I escaped the city. I did not manage to escape the thousands of Chinese on a weekend away to the park (they even built an airport nearby).  I spent a beautiful day hiking in the park in the company of an english speaking Chinese student who had interesting opinions about his country and politics.\n\n![Chengdu 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTdZxzRhqy4Q66sQqth1cf4ZcVCYGLhJBhAYNLaaAhMcD/Chengdu%2011.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPopZxJRgzTWE3VrToSQFsvKe5sNDzbcmeQCbXyDZHPs2/Chengdu%2012.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmemA88h4SMe3ZwdzXspBVuDXxUXfptKHpW8A4qZNsEygv/Chengdu%2013.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmS1gQgm6AZoLfzSRb4UiKnnCCTDDLpSTiJQaVrijjeKxY/Chengdu%2014.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdcFKnpDkSusk5GsdByfxKySP3xHXKiZaf7KqG7AXismZ/Chengdu%2015.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 16.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNPkgnKwaN1ED9KSzmNdAfR2DcM4eycZqgf85bjasyWkH/Chengdu%2016.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 17.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYqUVtZQfyexpdQGh7j9NYEcHrw2b5sAjoXpTMZd91Cbo/Chengdu%2017.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 18.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQYA64Yy2Z9BsYA8pGwYVHAJfUemKwc3qcbSxJ5zxtDUP/Chengdu%2018.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 19.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmao1w97k75pxKaLEYoFMEgiqNzV13jLkZW6Zy1iauiB4C/Chengdu%2019.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 20.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeFdBuWU429XXWMt3Z4sBvUeC7gnaphtcfM7aCR4yBqyG/Chengdu%2020.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 21.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWNs7MbiWbPrUV5azPDBe4NBFWXHKwMp4GQsoXJXCnDYN/Chengdu%2021.jpg)\n\nI could really feel that this area was Tibet, the locals and buildings had nothing much in common with China. Pity that foreigners can’t travel to Tibet without special permits and “organized tours”/”governments minders”.",
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      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-seoul",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - South Korea Seoul",
      "body": "As I mentioned several times, China is a crowded country. You can experience it in many daily situations and it can extend to the airports where my outbound flight from Shenzhen to Seoul was delayed by 1 hour because there were too many planes which needed to take off!!  Interestingly at Shenzhen airport, I came across the below panel where Taiwan did not seem to fit into the International departure category …\n\n![Seoul 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmf2HA7rRSCUgSBP48v3Z8B93T3zruibT375VGxM45KbRv/Seoul%201.jpg)\n\nI landed in South Korea in the evening. At the border control, they took my fingerprints along with a picture of me.  Facilities at the airport are even more modern than in China. I then took a train to Seoul downtown, looking forward to discover a country whose movies & pop star music are sweeping throughout Asia, especially China where it’s even more popular than Chinese movies. The first think I noticed in Seoul public transport is that Koreans are actually waiting for people inside to leave the bus/subway before actually getting in; an unexpected behaviour after just spending a month in China where people had less courtesy. Another amusing fact is the cheer amount of advertising for plastic surgery which is a widespread practise for Korean girls. Many Koreans are ready to spend a fortune to have a whiter skin and European face. The most Famous Korean actors/actress have all undergone plastic surgery and look so perfect that many girls feel pressured to spend a lot of money in cosmetics (whose stores are all over the place, especially French one) and physical surgery to find a husband & good job. From a westerner point of view, Koreans are quite tall; many are reaching my height (1m90) and they are wearing clothes as a westerner.\n\n![Seoul 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPgivHZDHYABnejNEgzvQQEwvmEfdatQdK7cZVCNbFwEe/Seoul%202.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmchGoUUKwp9TrqEUn244TDhJDVeLbW5a3nsv4mJZrQX69/Seoul%203.jpg)\n\nAs soon as I arrived to my hostel, I enquiry about going onto a tour at the border with North Korea which was something I always dreamt of experiencing. Unfortunately, it takes 2 working days to do the background check so I spent the 2 first days in Seoul exploring this modern city.\n\n![Seoul 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQY16Se9UovrXP8v2AmhK7gU2s7ya29DLT4cpaUhbjHGm/Seoul%204.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdxEQk3fXpWK7M7gGcnGYB58iheoeDM3LsJqcYi1vEZyY/Seoul%205.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW5kfxe15jpC7f7umrDf9ssjiQ6cGMFgC6i6QJyDTM9dv/Seoul%206.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUCrRhSyq43nQ86pQkDhqJsnkF5gi8xeYhVr9tKiYouFg/Seoul%207.jpg)\n\nI had a typical Korean dinner with a local I met and I was really surprised by the amount of food and side dishes they throw on the tables.\n\n![Seoul 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZEei78AZFBtvzi1js36GwBn9537HRRedY6wvLoimJ3P4/Seoul%208.jpg)\n\nThe third day I finally went onto my tour to the DMZ and JSA (Joint Security Area). We drove North of Seoul for just about 50 min as the border with North Korea is only about 45 km from South Korea capital (scary!). There is a main highway in parallel of the DMZ from where you can see barbed wires, fences and watchtowers manned by armed soldiers as far as you can see (over 250km). As part of the DMZ tour, we were taken to an observatory where with binocular you can check out across the border a North Korean village (main sightseeing: the third highest flagpole in the world) then to an underground tunnel discovered in the 70’s and built by North Koreans to move infantry behind South Korean lines and launch surprise attacks to Seoul. It’s worth noting that South Korean mean need to service 2 years in the army and are de facto reservists up until the age of 49.\n\n![Seoul 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSfoQ5NtPz4qxVGTcxt98bRok7r2ZgLvchicnwd68A2fY/Seoul%209.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWKpTTQV822EnvNRnc3iR6XgG1fo8FU7tF4DLR6tiy94K/Seoul%2010.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbiA8zvyE2q978nN99Y4pERkGF9pb9K5kM1yLQopQBCSb/Seoul%2012.jpg)\n\nFinally, was the visit to the joint security area (manned jointly by South & North Koreans). We arrived at the UN run Bonifas camp, manned by American & South Koreans soldiers. Had a briefing on the DMZ and JSA, were led into a shop selling imported North Koreans products and currency. Serving at the Joint Security Area is a great honour and pride for South Korean soldiers as only the elite soldiers can be assigned there. They need to be above 1m70, black belt in Judo or Taekwondo, excellent military credentials and family background.   During their shifts, they must be wearing Sun glasses and clench their fists in a threatening posture to impress North Koreans soldiers.\n\nWe then took a military bus under escort to take us to the site all the way through the DMZ. At first, we could only see one North Korean soldier at the other side checking us out through binoculars so was rather disappointing although the sight of the South Koreans solders facing the military line was really impressive. Went to one of the meeting house, after a soldier went in first to guard the exit door to North Korea to ensure nobody would do something foolish.\n\nWhen we were about to leave, we noticed North Korean tourists at the other side and suddenly North Korean soldiers started to run towards the demarcation line. There were 3 between each meeting home. What was really interesting to observe is that amongst their team, one soldier was facing the North Korean tourists rather than the South Korean side and the 2 other were behind facing each other parallel to the demarcation line. Once the tourists left, they left too. I then realize that they were not so much worried about South Korean soldiers crossing the line to North Korea but the prospects of their own soldiers defecting to the South!!\n\n![Seoul 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmetU5XggRngn8aeiysBESTe2Az7BexNtZZVhgESmQJ2oB/Seoul%2013.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRTwxndBdYcHCdHmkHS74JvtaEVrvhxyhUC3XBNqrKDBW/Seoul%2014.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZDoEZPozYrbNpEKMnoKkhNejJMfGhkAuxSReW1WNUvV8/Seoul%2015.jpg)",
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  "timestamp": "2017-08-11T16:23:03",
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      "parent_permlink": "trip",
      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-busan",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip -  South Korea Busan",
      "body": "Thinking about where next to go after Seoul, I narrowed down the options to BUSAN (2nd biggest city on the South East coast) or JEJU (most southern island). The hostel owner mentioned that JEJU is the most popular domestic destination for Koreans as it’s a beautiful Korean tropical island (similar to Okinawa for Japanese & Hainan for Chinese). Unfortunately, I was right in the middle of the peak season due to some national holidays starting in the end of July; so after looking at the overpriced plane tickets for JEJU; I decided I’ll be better off taking a train to Busan + I would have the option there to eventually take a ferry to Japan.\n\nSouth Korea has a really modern infrastructure so its territory is mainly covered by high speed train called KTX but I was looking for a bargain so I struggled to get a ticket for an old slow train taking 5h00 to go to Busan (about 500km) for about £15 :)\n\nIn the train, I was sitting next to a 13 year old Korean boy who had a decent English (at his age, I was barely able to pronounce a sentence in English)!! and was curious about my whereabouts & background. I showed him some pictures of my trip and told him how wonderful his country is. He was quite interested by the pictures of North Korean soldiers as South Koreans are not allowed to go to the Joint Security Area.\n\nThe train stations along the way were all really modern and around the South of the country, some beautiful mountains were surrounding the tracks.\n\n![Busan 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRwTU1ChebQoPosNizPvCYww4XC8BDJBps7orwXQpMDqn/Busan%201.jpg)\n\nAfter I finally arrived at my destination; as it was late and my hostel far from the subway lines, I took (attempted) a taxi which threw me out as the driver visibly did not seem interested to ride me over there. After some hurdles, I was happy to make it to the hostel right in front of the beach through the public transport.\n\nSpent the next day soaking the atmosphere of this sea side city, visiting a Buddhist temple in the mountains + a Santini like village. In the evening, went out clubbing. I got drunk there really quickly as being the only foreigner around; many young Koreans kept inviting me to sit at their tables and share their drinks.  Wearing Harry Potter like glasses in Korea is really trendy at the moment and that’s what half of the Koreans were wearing in the club, hilarious!\n\n![Busan 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVf5mM9CPkmudD9rY6iRjwWm1WCP6cadkWHMCBetgmQDv/Busan%202.jpg)\n\n![Busan 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbC82YdJMLEThWJiXgsRTdqY1hY18XuEYNdvbk58N6KK7/Busan%203.jpg)\n\n![Busan 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPxCXaBwLwDzbsH558C6M2f2AYiKcFLc44jE22sBDd5fi/Busan%204.jpg)\n\n![Busan 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc64eVojvECrRASP9sB8eGMFSVnfbroBzaRhXXnvKsRTb/Busan%205.jpg)\n\n![Busan 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYDQhaV6LxcaRHjKNMxuZ7GQ8WDREC1H47beJ4vxGZRj3/Busan%206.jpg)\n\n![Busan 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmctvi7FJLsDMnCMNxZzRyjScT1JgPzWteDVZk94zXDD5z/Busan%207.jpg)\n\n![Busan 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWfsXmSBuMuHgvjcjy4HLa1Sn3dE8SFFGb2FPZQJiBGmF/Busan%208.jpg)\n\n![Busan 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSNV9AUjNCC4EKJ26sZN8fSiYZjfij7SZ1uPwN5eJ7bTX/Busan%209.jpg)\n\nOn Saturday was my first typhoon experience, Typhoon Nakri was sweeping through all of South Korea and from the moment I stepped outside at 8AM and came back at 23H00 heavy rain was pouring non-stop.  That’s when I decided to visit a traditional Korean spa, also called jjimjilbang. I went to the most fancy in Busan (about £8 for 4 hours).The baths/hot springs are segregated by gender while the jjimjilbang floor is for everyone and contains amenities such as sauna, sleeping area, hairdresser, O2 capsules, PC room, karaoke room, Cinema room, massage, restaurant,  bar, etc… Many Koreans use Jjimjilbang as a cheap hotel where whole families would be just sleeping on the heated floor.  In the baths, locals are naked (compulsory) and being a foreigner is not a good excuse. Coming from a Latin country, I had a hard time convincing myself to do it the Korean way but that’s another example when travelling alone can be really handy as it did not have to do it around people I knew J It was actually to my surprise a really good experience and I wonder why these establishments are not more widespread. The level of service offered in these establishments is absolutely outstanding and many Koreans are going there on a daily basis after work to relax.\n\n![Busan 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQrutHzaVxVehEayWtNsZUXLyB15h8qeeYBGzPzk2qRbA/Busan%2010.jpg)\n\n![Busan 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc1JFu5HMumeR2f5tpF1LMfonw6r4mQ9KRYa3oFfbHD8j/Busan%2011.jpg)\n\nThinking about a way to escape the ongoing typhoon in South Korea, I decided to move on to Japan. I had no idea when starting my Trans-Siberian trip that I would go to South Korea and Japan. I’m now just making up my travels plan as I go! Going by ferry and by plane was about the same price, but since I’m not in a hurry and it’s been years I haven’t stayed on a ferry; I felt a 19 hours ferry trip to Osaka was a good adventure.  Unfortunately, the website of the company operating these tours was only in Korean & Japan but with the help of a friendly girl at the hotel; I was put through an English speaking operator over the phone to book my ticket. I just had to provide my passport details and come to pick up (and so pay later ?!!) my ticket. On the next day, at the ferry terminal I met an old Korean “English interpreter volunteer” who I befriend and started to tell me some interesting stories about the Korean war (1950-1953). He learned English via the American marines during and after the war.  He recalled how afraid he was when he saw for the first time a black American soldier.\n\nSouth Korea on the contrary of China have really good relationship with USA as they are grateful that thanks to the American contribution to the war, they are not now on the “wrong side” of the border.\n\nTrying now on the ferry to sort out what to do and see in Osaka :)\n\n![Busan 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXESZQ8n5J6Bde1CJqHd87NdDdN6apLeyXkCQ7fe8C861/Busan%2012.jpg)\n\nSome random videos of South Korea :\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVWp93Ri-z0",
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{
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  "timestamp": "2017-08-11T16:21:09",
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    {
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      "parent_permlink": "travel",
      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-japan",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - Japan",
      "body": "In the 19 hours ferry taking me from South Korea to Japan, I met my Japanese roommate. To my relief, he was fluent in English (and in Korean !).  He’s working on a project in Korea most of the year and managed to dumb my enthusiasm after describing me the work life in Korea & Japan (long hours and little holidays). Apparently in Japanese (or Asian culture in general); perception is important so being the first to leave the office is something people try to avoid so it leads to funny situation when everyone leave at the same time at a really late hour or only when the boss has left first.\n\nHaving a tour of the ferry, I bumped into the Sauna facilities and gave it a try. Basically, there were 2 warm pools + sauna facing the sea (bay window) where Korean/Japanese men (and I !) were relaxing looking outside at the sea.  Later at the dinner, I luckily was sitting next to the only white man in the whole ferry (had a few dreadlocks).  He was adopted by a Japanese couple at an early age then grew up between England, Japan, Israel & Korea. He was making a living playing guitar in the streets, earning about 200000 Won a day in Korea (about 150 euros/day) which is more than decent especially that no taxes were involved !\n\nOn the next morning the ferry arrived at destination. At the customs, everybody went through apart of the other westerner and I. They seem troubled by the number of visa on my passport and asked me what I was up to in all these countries !! They open my backpack and remove all of the items one by one. Then they proceed to a body inspection,  asked me to strip most of my clothes; inquired politely if it was ok if they touched me, but as I did not have my Japanese visa yet; I figured out I did not have a choice.  It was the first time I have been touched so closely by another man and somehow gave me a weird first impression of the country.\n\nAfter proudly receiving my well deserved visa, I went outside to try to get my head around the local public transport system. They have subways and train lines operated by different companies and the price of the ticket depends on how many stops you need to travel + whether or not you need to change lines. That was horribly confusing and somehow at the station near the harbor they weren’t expecting to see much foreigners as the whole thing was in Japanese !\n\n![Japan 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRXJqMqAKXfphZbm1y4LVSVNP81m2m1XHdzT2T7rziYrC/Japan%201.jpg)\n\n![Japan 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbxdrV4qJMT4QhafGW22CVd8xVqtpYSR4jRpu6SpYPEsU/Japan%202.jpg)\n\nUpon reaching my hostel, my first objective was to get some cash as I’ve heard many stories of stranded travelers who could not withdraw cash in Japan as most of the ATM there do not accept foreign cards. The only 2 locations are the ATM in the 7/11 shops + post offices. It was with a great relief that I withdrew my yen and started exploring around.\n\nJapan is a dense country and the best word to describe the urban landscape would be: messy. There are no rules or standards, you can see pretty much anything from one building to another. I spent the first afternoon at Osaka castle (Rebuilt after the war so did not look that old) which was sitting in the middle if the biggest park in Osaka (not that impressive !). The castle had inside an exposition on some big battle which happen a few centuries ago and led to the fall of Osaka Castle. Seeing the painting depicting the war, massacres and many beheading; I figured out that human nature is the same anywhere in the world.\n\n![Japan 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfQfqvqd4Ma8h2QSEfbfoixnsLPhLWRNsjQ56KfjtqrFz/Japan%203.jpg)\n\n![Japan 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXxTY7W7N8VpDwv4rJcgG56p6cSnSsoBbGef1GWkvWVyP/Japan%204.jpg)\n\nOn my way back in the subway, I noticed some Japanese women giving me odd look and after leaving the carriage I just realized it was reserved for women !  Gender equality in Japan is not a developed concept  and it’s widespread for Japanese women to abandon their career permanently after getting married and having their first child.\n\n![Japan 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRkyrkf9bDN4nNozf2g9crxZsjVxvqkwYsjgjBpSATTu6/Japan%205.jpg)\n\nThere are restaurants here everywhere you go, serving delicious food. The choice and quality of food is amazing. About half of the restaurants do not have any waiters/waitress, you can often go to a machine showing you a list of meals. selecting it, pay, get your ticket and seat on the table surrounding cookers at the center of the restaurant where they would be cooking just in front of you to my great delight.\n\n![Japan 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZGJuRKaxxzWfiFTC71CEYBcs3dQozjWctLmmSvkAQme9/Japan%206.jpg)\n\n![Japan 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRUbz8zqRsoyq9mR8Caqz36JHj1sZ3rm8fDUFx3t7iTkU/Japan%207.jpg)\n\nToilets in Japan are amazing. Even in public places, they will be really modern and among their features, you can push a button to play a waterfall sound so that no one will hear you and you can push another button which would spray your ass at the desired intensity. While it might seem odd for a westerner, after trying it I concluded that’s it’s actually really hygienic as you don’t need to use your hands !\n\n![Japan 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWVqaPeC9zKyseeM4cfhmNgKxjV5VJEPpj9N7WKDKaGPn/Japan%208.jpg)\n\nGambling is a big thing in Japan. Everywhere you walk there are many  crowded facilities hosting  pachinko machines (some sort of Japanese video slot machine) where Japanese spend hours if not days winning the balls and exchanging them outside for money (gambling is technically illegal).  Other places allow you to bet on virtual horse racing !!\n\n![Japan 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUKmp7nKLfPuvuBegnNcVSRsrGuwdUY7fFDPHiYTcbkYJ/Japan%209.jpg)\n\nThe thing that strikes me in Japan is how polite people are. The customer service is the best I have ever experienced, light years away from customer service in China.  Taxi drivers here are all wearing suits, white gloves and bow tie.  Anywhere you go, you are greeted with a (commercial) smile. Some random pictures of Osaka:\n\n![Japan 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYWAW5iX3d9zM2J4UY47HePNEXUuqubHp8VxYfWFWDmRz/Japan%2010.jpg)\n\n![Japan 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcR5fD2FBoEtxCqaMGHS4yiwQavorceDTBQP49UtMMMck/Japan%2011.jpg)\n\n![Japan 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcYH4FysosPP5u2iK3GsaLBdJo561jpfQvAxFS13u7FCx/Japan%2012.jpg)\n\n![Japan 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX4S7AcgMPRmHf1oXRBpn4Wnz1ARjDP5qgECyVDaBiSQo/Japan%2013.jpg)\n\n![Japan 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeqZokgDroKvcWgJBKHsoqeEGd8GudY1PvnfU6WGWJtaA/Japan%2014.jpg)\n\n![Japan 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY9zLhHR9UpsVwMxfvEwPbcciY48QUuXCMwg6yj1ZeWPD/Japan%2015.jpg)\n\n![Japan 16.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdEnLAEZ2CKxHHMTTP2NiCzqytGsudWbL5z4easkS5Szf/Japan%2016.jpg)\n\n![Japan 17.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPT8taz5sjL6aiPYiQa9fvBZAD8SswC4tNVD5gHejqphY/Japan%2017.jpg)\n\nI went out to try Spa world which is the biggest in Osaka. Similarly to Korea, they have a lot of facilities inside and people are walking around naked; the main difference being that Japanese fathers were bringing their daughters to the male baths.  One of them, upon seeing my white face waved at me with big smile which was a rather awkward moment as I did not know how I should react or if that’s something I should consider as being normal ?!\n\n![Japan 18.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY2uHBSC52KsrPdqrNMbFGfVxgdFaojeWF8xzN2tH3y75/Japan%2018.jpg)\n\nAfter having seen the main sights at Osaka, I went to Kyoto, a mere 30min away by train. Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan for 1000years+ and has a large amounts of old buildings and the locals there are deeply attached to their traditions. It was absolutely beautiful. I went to Gion (=Geisha Alley ) hoping to spot a Geisha and snap a picture of one of them but to no luck  :(\n\n![Japan 19.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSEEti1suWkWtQnxVowZwbfS9aMvS1xcjvPLM3mrU8tYy/Japan%2019.jpg)\n\n![Japan 20.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfSnEtvrs3QTpEn1zzc3ud14cH4M7BHEcHQC3ogFjBxyU/Japan%2020.jpg)\n\n![Japan 21.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZV5vyBvpbMzaAJbafVAThJZtD3PhE2PzQFhcDSis4XXC/Japan%2021.jpg)\n\n![Japan 22.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX93CJihj543qFAP8Suj2y4J4PXuBHYFPEZws5MJXWCgy/Japan%2022.jpg)\n\n![Japan 23.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT6jTnmdMijk7pAHDewJikgcWmzMPNzyDp2iS1bspKfk5/Japan%2023.jpg)\n\n![Japan 24.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaHtXgz48Cff2QmHUmneheNQ57boXNFSR9JC6jiP2WZeM/Japan%2024.jpg)\n\nNext day, I went out to Kobe which suffered a devastating earthquake in 1995. The city was rather new due to that disaster so was quite interesting to walk around.\n\n![Japan 25.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVEckCXZy8RfARh3ygFxwWewJpjrRja7X9bmNBtbz3pxj/Japan%2025.jpg)\n\n![Japan 26.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYVDEpCATbLEsyScwhVGXXhSYnzeUKfFicg7iWckXHGR5/Japan%2026.jpg)\n\nOn weekend, a typhoon was closing on Japan and I got a message from my airline that my flight was delayed.  I had an outbound flight to take to Singapore, luckily it got only delayed by 10 hours; the worst of the typhoon happening on Saturday.\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJTJEcMZ9uM",
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      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-japan",
      "title": "Trans-Mongolian trip - Japan",
      "body": "In the 19 hours ferry taking me from South Korea to Japan, I met my Japanese roommate. To my relief, he was fluent in English (and in Korean !).  He’s working on a project in Korea most of the year and managed to dumb my enthusiasm after describing me the work life in Korea & Japan (long hours and little holidays). Apparently in Japanese (or Asian culture in general); perception is important so being the first to leave the office is something people try to avoid so it leads to funny situation when everyone leave at the same time at a really late hour or only when the boss has left first.\n\nHaving a tour of the ferry, I bumped into the Sauna facilities and gave it a try. Basically, there were 2 warm pools + sauna facing the sea (bay window) where Korean/Japanese men (and I !) were relaxing looking outside at the sea.  Later at the dinner, I luckily was sitting next to the only white man in the whole ferry (had a few dreadlocks).  He was adopted by a Japanese couple at an early age then grew up between England, Japan, Israel & Korea. He was making a living playing guitar in the streets, earning about 200000 Won a day in Korea (about 150 euros/day) which is more than decent especially that no taxes were involved !\n\nOn the next morning the ferry arrived at destination. At the customs, everybody went through apart of the other westerner and I. They seem troubled by the number of visa on my passport and asked me what I was up to in all these countries !! They open my backpack and remove all of the items one by one. Then they proceed to a body inspection,  asked me to strip most of my clothes; inquired politely if it was ok if they touched me, but as I did not have my Japanese visa yet; I figured out I did not have a choice.  It was the first time I have been touched so closely by another man and somehow gave me a weird first impression of the country.\n\nAfter proudly receiving my well deserved visa, I went outside to try to get my head around the local public transport system. They have subways and train lines operated by different companies and the price of the ticket depends on how many stops you need to travel + whether or not you need to change lines. That was horribly confusing and somehow at the station near the harbor they weren’t expecting to see much foreigners as the whole thing was in Japanese !\n\n![Japan 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRXJqMqAKXfphZbm1y4LVSVNP81m2m1XHdzT2T7rziYrC/Japan%201.jpg)\n\n![Japan 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbxdrV4qJMT4QhafGW22CVd8xVqtpYSR4jRpu6SpYPEsU/Japan%202.jpg)\n\nUpon reaching my hostel, my first objective was to get some cash as I’ve heard many stories of stranded travelers who could not withdraw cash in Japan as most of the ATM there do not accept foreign cards. The only 2 locations are the ATM in the 7/11 shops + post offices. It was with a great relief that I withdrew my yen and started exploring around.\n\nJapan is a dense country and the best word to describe the urban landscape would be: messy. There are no rules or standards, you can see pretty much anything from one building to another. I spent the first afternoon at Osaka castle (Rebuilt after the war so did not look that old) which was sitting in the middle if the biggest park in Osaka (not that impressive !). The castle had inside an exposition on some big battle which happen a few centuries ago and led to the fall of Osaka Castle. Seeing the painting depicting the war, massacres and many beheading; I figured out that human nature is the same anywhere in the world.\n\n![Japan 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfQfqvqd4Ma8h2QSEfbfoixnsLPhLWRNsjQ56KfjtqrFz/Japan%203.jpg)\n\n![Japan 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXxTY7W7N8VpDwv4rJcgG56p6cSnSsoBbGef1GWkvWVyP/Japan%204.jpg)\n\nOn my way back in the subway, I noticed some Japanese women giving me odd look and after leaving the carriage I just realized it was reserved for women !  Gender equality in Japan is not a developed concept  and it’s widespread for Japanese women to abandon their career permanently after getting married and having their first child.\n\n![Japan 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRkyrkf9bDN4nNozf2g9crxZsjVxvqkwYsjgjBpSATTu6/Japan%205.jpg)\n\nThere are restaurants here everywhere you go, serving delicious food. The choice and quality of food is amazing. About half of the restaurants do not have any waiters/waitress, you can often go to a machine showing you a list of meals. selecting it, pay, get your ticket and seat on the table surrounding cookers at the center of the restaurant where they would be cooking just in front of you to my great delight.\n\n![Japan 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZGJuRKaxxzWfiFTC71CEYBcs3dQozjWctLmmSvkAQme9/Japan%206.jpg)\n\n![Japan 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRUbz8zqRsoyq9mR8Caqz36JHj1sZ3rm8fDUFx3t7iTkU/Japan%207.jpg)\n\nToilets in Japan are amazing. Even in public places, they will be really modern and among their features, you can push a button to play a waterfall sound so that no one will hear you and you can push another button which would spray your ass at the desired intensity. While it might seem odd for a westerner, after trying it I concluded that’s it’s actually really hygienic as you don’t need to use your hands !\n\n![Japan 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWVqaPeC9zKyseeM4cfhmNgKxjV5VJEPpj9N7WKDKaGPn/Japan%208.jpg)\n\nGambling is a big thing in Japan. Everywhere you walk there are many  crowded facilities hosting  pachinko machines (some sort of Japanese video slot machine) where Japanese spend hours if not days winning the balls and exchanging them outside for money (gambling is technically illegal).  Other places allow you to bet on virtual horse racing !!\n\n![Japan 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUKmp7nKLfPuvuBegnNcVSRsrGuwdUY7fFDPHiYTcbkYJ/Japan%209.jpg)\n\nThe thing that strikes me in Japan is how polite people are. The customer service is the best I have ever experienced, light years away from customer service in China.  Taxi drivers here are all wearing suits, white gloves and bow tie.  Anywhere you go, you are greeted with a (commercial) smile. Some random pictures of Osaka:\n\n![Japan 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYWAW5iX3d9zM2J4UY47HePNEXUuqubHp8VxYfWFWDmRz/Japan%2010.jpg)\n\n![Japan 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcR5fD2FBoEtxCqaMGHS4yiwQavorceDTBQP49UtMMMck/Japan%2011.jpg)\n\n![Japan 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcYH4FysosPP5u2iK3GsaLBdJo561jpfQvAxFS13u7FCx/Japan%2012.jpg)\n\n![Japan 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX4S7AcgMPRmHf1oXRBpn4Wnz1ARjDP5qgECyVDaBiSQo/Japan%2013.jpg)\n\n![Japan 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeqZokgDroKvcWgJBKHsoqeEGd8GudY1PvnfU6WGWJtaA/Japan%2014.jpg)\n\n![Japan 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY9zLhHR9UpsVwMxfvEwPbcciY48QUuXCMwg6yj1ZeWPD/Japan%2015.jpg)\n\n![Japan 16.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdEnLAEZ2CKxHHMTTP2NiCzqytGsudWbL5z4easkS5Szf/Japan%2016.jpg)\n\n![Japan 17.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPT8taz5sjL6aiPYiQa9fvBZAD8SswC4tNVD5gHejqphY/Japan%2017.jpg)\n\nI went out to try Spa world which is the biggest in Osaka. Similarly to Korea, they have a lot of facilities inside and people are walking around naked; the main difference being that Japanese fathers were bringing their daughters to the male baths.  One of them, upon seeing my white face waved at me with big smile which was a rather awkward moment as I did not know how I should react or if that’s something I should consider as being normal ?!\n\n![Japan 18.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY2uHBSC52KsrPdqrNMbFGfVxgdFaojeWF8xzN2tH3y75/Japan%2018.jpg)\n\nAfter having seen the main sights at Osaka, I went to Kyoto, a mere 30min away by train. Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan for 1000years+ and has a large amounts of old buildings and the locals there are deeply attached to their traditions. It was absolutely beautiful. I went to Gion (=Geisha Alley ) hoping to spot a Geisha and snap a picture of one of them but to no luck  :(\n\n![Japan 19.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSEEti1suWkWtQnxVowZwbfS9aMvS1xcjvPLM3mrU8tYy/Japan%2019.jpg)\n\n![Japan 20.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfSnEtvrs3QTpEn1zzc3ud14cH4M7BHEcHQC3ogFjBxyU/Japan%2020.jpg)\n\n![Japan 21.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZV5vyBvpbMzaAJbafVAThJZtD3PhE2PzQFhcDSis4XXC/Japan%2021.jpg)\n\n![Japan 22.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX93CJihj543qFAP8Suj2y4J4PXuBHYFPEZws5MJXWCgy/Japan%2022.jpg)\n\n![Japan 23.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT6jTnmdMijk7pAHDewJikgcWmzMPNzyDp2iS1bspKfk5/Japan%2023.jpg)\n\n![Japan 24.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaHtXgz48Cff2QmHUmneheNQ57boXNFSR9JC6jiP2WZeM/Japan%2024.jpg)\n\nNext day, I went out to Kobe which suffered a devastating earthquake in 1995. The city was rather new due to that disaster so was quite interesting to walk around.\n\n![Japan 25.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVEckCXZy8RfARh3ygFxwWewJpjrRja7X9bmNBtbz3pxj/Japan%2025.jpg)\n\n![Japan 26.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYVDEpCATbLEsyScwhVGXXhSYnzeUKfFicg7iWckXHGR5/Japan%2026.jpg)\n\nOn weekend, a typhoon was closing on Japan and I got a message from my airline that my flight was delayed.  I had an outbound flight to take to Singapore, luckily it got only delayed by 10 hours; the worst of the typhoon happening on Saturday.\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJTJEcMZ9uM",
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      "parent_permlink": "travel",
      "author": "gerudo",
      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-beijing",
      "title": "Trans-mongolian trip - Beijing",
      "body": "@@ -1941,16 +1941,61 @@\n ience.%0A%0A\n+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq19PRwGPUk%0A%0A\n In the m\n",
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      "permlink": "trans-mongolian-trip-shanghai",
      "title": "Trans-mongolian trip - SHANGHAI",
      "body": "@@ -4410,16 +4410,76 @@\n 4.jpg)%0A%0A\n+Random Video:%0A%0Ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmZhdtrQqD8%0A%0A\n Took on \n",
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      "title": "Mongolia - Trans-Mongolian trip",
      "body": "@@ -6610,8 +6610,53 @@\n 30 June.\n+%0A%0Ahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac4eh480eEk\n",
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      "title": "Trans-mongolian trip - Japan",
      "body": "In the 19 hours ferry taking me from South Korea to Japan, I met my Japanese roommate. To my relief, he was fluent in English (and in Korean !).  He’s working on a project in Korea most of the year and managed to dumb my enthusiasm after describing me the work life in Korea & Japan (long hours and little holidays). Apparently in Japanese (or Asian culture in general); perception is important so being the first to leave the office is something people try to avoid so it leads to funny situation when everyone leave at the same time at a really late hour or only when the boss has left first.\n\nHaving a tour of the ferry, I bumped into the Sauna facilities and gave it a try. Basically, there were 2 warm pools + sauna facing the sea (bay window) where Korean/Japanese men (and I !) were relaxing looking outside at the sea.  Later at the dinner, I luckily was sitting next to the only white man in the whole ferry (had a few dreadlocks).  He was adopted by a Japanese couple at an early age then grew up between England, Japan, Israel & Korea. He was making a living playing guitar in the streets, earning about 200000 Won a day in Korea (about 150 euros/day) which is more than decent especially that no taxes were involved !\n\nOn the next morning the ferry arrived at destination. At the customs, everybody went through apart of the other westerner and I. They seem troubled by the number of visa on my passport and asked me what I was up to in all these countries !! They open my backpack and remove all of the items one by one. Then they proceed to a body inspection,  asked me to strip most of my clothes; inquired politely if it was ok if they touched me, but as I did not have my Japanese visa yet; I figured out I did not have a choice.  It was the first time I have been touched so closely by another man and somehow gave me a weird first impression of the country.\n\nAfter proudly receiving my well deserved visa, I went outside to try to get my head around the local public transport system. They have subways and train lines operated by different companies and the price of the ticket depends on how many stops you need to travel + whether or not you need to change lines. That was horribly confusing and somehow at the station near the harbor they weren’t expecting to see much foreigners as the whole thing was in Japanese !\n\n![Japan 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRXJqMqAKXfphZbm1y4LVSVNP81m2m1XHdzT2T7rziYrC/Japan%201.jpg)\n\n![Japan 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbxdrV4qJMT4QhafGW22CVd8xVqtpYSR4jRpu6SpYPEsU/Japan%202.jpg)\n\nUpon reaching my hostel, my first objective was to get some cash as I’ve heard many stories of stranded travelers who could not withdraw cash in Japan as most of the ATM there do not accept foreign cards. The only 2 locations are the ATM in the 7/11 shops + post offices. It was with a great relief that I withdrew my yen and started exploring around.\n\nJapan is a dense country and the best word to describe the urban landscape would be: messy. There are no rules or standards, you can see pretty much anything from one building to another. I spent the first afternoon at Osaka castle (Rebuilt after the war so did not look that old) which was sitting in the middle if the biggest park in Osaka (not that impressive !). The castle had inside an exposition on some big battle which happen a few centuries ago and led to the fall of Osaka Castle. Seeing the painting depicting the war, massacres and many beheading; I figured out that human nature is the same anywhere in the world.\n\n![Japan 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfQfqvqd4Ma8h2QSEfbfoixnsLPhLWRNsjQ56KfjtqrFz/Japan%203.jpg)\n\n![Japan 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXxTY7W7N8VpDwv4rJcgG56p6cSnSsoBbGef1GWkvWVyP/Japan%204.jpg)\n\nOn my way back in the subway, I noticed some Japanese women giving me odd look and after leaving the carriage I just realized it was reserved for women !  Gender equality in Japan is not a developed concept  and it’s widespread for Japanese women to abandon their career permanently after getting married and having their first child.\n\n![Japan 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRkyrkf9bDN4nNozf2g9crxZsjVxvqkwYsjgjBpSATTu6/Japan%205.jpg)\n\nThere are restaurants here everywhere you go, serving delicious food. The choice and quality of food is amazing. About half of the restaurants do not have any waiters/waitress, you can often go to a machine showing you a list of meals. selecting it, pay, get your ticket and seat on the table surrounding cookers at the center of the restaurant where they would be cooking just in front of you to my great delight.\n\n![Japan 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZGJuRKaxxzWfiFTC71CEYBcs3dQozjWctLmmSvkAQme9/Japan%206.jpg)\n\n![Japan 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRUbz8zqRsoyq9mR8Caqz36JHj1sZ3rm8fDUFx3t7iTkU/Japan%207.jpg)\n\nToilets in Japan are amazing. Even in public places, they will be really modern and among their features, you can push a button to play a waterfall sound so that no one will hear you and you can push another button which would spray your ass at the desired intensity. While it might seem odd for a westerner, after trying it I concluded that’s it’s actually really hygienic as you don’t need to use your hands !\n\n![Japan 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWVqaPeC9zKyseeM4cfhmNgKxjV5VJEPpj9N7WKDKaGPn/Japan%208.jpg)\n\nGambling is a big thing in Japan. Everywhere you walk there are many  crowded facilities hosting  pachinko machines (some sort of Japanese video slot machine) where Japanese spend hours if not days winning the balls and exchanging them outside for money (gambling is technically illegal).  Other places allow you to bet on virtual horse racing !!\n\n![Japan 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUKmp7nKLfPuvuBegnNcVSRsrGuwdUY7fFDPHiYTcbkYJ/Japan%209.jpg)\n\nThe thing that strikes me in Japan is how polite people are. The customer service is the best I have ever experienced, light years away from customer service in China.  Taxi drivers here are all wearing suits, white gloves and bow tie.  Anywhere you go, you are greeted with a (commercial) smile. Some random pictures of Osaka:\n\n![Japan 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYWAW5iX3d9zM2J4UY47HePNEXUuqubHp8VxYfWFWDmRz/Japan%2010.jpg)\n\n![Japan 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcR5fD2FBoEtxCqaMGHS4yiwQavorceDTBQP49UtMMMck/Japan%2011.jpg)\n\n![Japan 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcYH4FysosPP5u2iK3GsaLBdJo561jpfQvAxFS13u7FCx/Japan%2012.jpg)\n\n![Japan 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX4S7AcgMPRmHf1oXRBpn4Wnz1ARjDP5qgECyVDaBiSQo/Japan%2013.jpg)\n\n![Japan 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeqZokgDroKvcWgJBKHsoqeEGd8GudY1PvnfU6WGWJtaA/Japan%2014.jpg)\n\n![Japan 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY9zLhHR9UpsVwMxfvEwPbcciY48QUuXCMwg6yj1ZeWPD/Japan%2015.jpg)\n\n![Japan 16.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdEnLAEZ2CKxHHMTTP2NiCzqytGsudWbL5z4easkS5Szf/Japan%2016.jpg)\n\n![Japan 17.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPT8taz5sjL6aiPYiQa9fvBZAD8SswC4tNVD5gHejqphY/Japan%2017.jpg)\n\nI went out to try Spa world which is the biggest in Osaka. Similarly to Korea, they have a lot of facilities inside and people are walking around naked; the main difference being that Japanese fathers were bringing their daughters to the male baths.  One of them, upon seeing my white face waved at me with big smile which was a rather awkward moment as I did not know how I should react or if that’s something I should consider as being normal ?!\n\n![Japan 18.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY2uHBSC52KsrPdqrNMbFGfVxgdFaojeWF8xzN2tH3y75/Japan%2018.jpg)\n\nAfter having seen the main sights at Osaka, I went to Kyoto, a mere 30min away by train. Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan for 1000years+ and has a large amounts of old buildings and the locals there are deeply attached to their traditions. It was absolutely beautiful. I went to Gion (=Geisha Alley ) hoping to spot a Geisha and snap a picture of one of them but to no luck  :(\n\n![Japan 19.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSEEti1suWkWtQnxVowZwbfS9aMvS1xcjvPLM3mrU8tYy/Japan%2019.jpg)\n\n![Japan 20.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmfSnEtvrs3QTpEn1zzc3ud14cH4M7BHEcHQC3ogFjBxyU/Japan%2020.jpg)\n\n![Japan 21.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZV5vyBvpbMzaAJbafVAThJZtD3PhE2PzQFhcDSis4XXC/Japan%2021.jpg)\n\n![Japan 22.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmX93CJihj543qFAP8Suj2y4J4PXuBHYFPEZws5MJXWCgy/Japan%2022.jpg)\n\n![Japan 23.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT6jTnmdMijk7pAHDewJikgcWmzMPNzyDp2iS1bspKfk5/Japan%2023.jpg)\n\n![Japan 24.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaHtXgz48Cff2QmHUmneheNQ57boXNFSR9JC6jiP2WZeM/Japan%2024.jpg)\n\nNext day, I went out to Kobe which suffered a devastating earthquake in 1995. The city was rather new due to that disaster so was quite interesting to walk around.\n\n![Japan 25.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVEckCXZy8RfARh3ygFxwWewJpjrRja7X9bmNBtbz3pxj/Japan%2025.jpg)\n\n![Japan 26.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYVDEpCATbLEsyScwhVGXXhSYnzeUKfFicg7iWckXHGR5/Japan%2026.jpg)\n\nOn weekend, a typhoon was closing on Japan and I got a message from my airline that my flight was delayed.  I had an outbound flight to take to Singapore, luckily it got only delayed by 10 hours; the worst of the typhoon happening on Saturday.\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJTJEcMZ9uM",
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      "title": "Trans-mongolian trip - Busan",
      "body": "Thinking about where next to go after Seoul, I narrowed down the options to BUSAN (2nd biggest city on the South East coast) or JEJU (most southern island). The hostel owner mentioned that JEJU is the most popular domestic destination for Koreans as it’s a beautiful Korean tropical island (similar to Okinawa for Japanese & Hainan for Chinese). Unfortunately, I was right in the middle of the peak season due to some national holidays starting in the end of July; so after looking at the overpriced plane tickets for JEJU; I decided I’ll be better off taking a train to Busan + I would have the option there to eventually take a ferry to Japan.\n\nSouth Korea has a really modern infrastructure so its territory is mainly covered by high speed train called KTX but I was looking for a bargain so I struggled to get a ticket for an old slow train taking 5h00 to go to Busan (about 500km) for about £15 :)\n\nIn the train, I was sitting next to a 13 year old Korean boy who had a decent English (at his age, I was barely able to pronounce a sentence in English)!! and was curious about my whereabouts & background. I showed him some pictures of my trip and told him how wonderful his country is. He was quite interested by the pictures of North Korean soldiers as South Koreans are not allowed to go to the Joint Security Area.\n\nThe train stations along the way were all really modern and around the South of the country, some beautiful mountains were surrounding the tracks.\n\n![Busan 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRwTU1ChebQoPosNizPvCYww4XC8BDJBps7orwXQpMDqn/Busan%201.jpg)\n\nAfter I finally arrived at my destination; as it was late and my hostel far from the subway lines, I took (attempted) a taxi which threw me out as the driver visibly did not seem interested to ride me over there. After some hurdles, I was happy to make it to the hostel right in front of the beach through the public transport.\n\nSpent the next day soaking the atmosphere of this sea side city, visiting a Buddhist temple in the mountains + a Santini like village. In the evening, went out clubbing. I got drunk there really quickly as being the only foreigner around; many young Koreans kept inviting me to sit at their tables and share their drinks.  Wearing Harry Potter like glasses in Korea is really trendy at the moment and that’s what half of the Koreans were wearing in the club, hilarious!\n\n![Busan 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVf5mM9CPkmudD9rY6iRjwWm1WCP6cadkWHMCBetgmQDv/Busan%202.jpg)\n\n![Busan 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbC82YdJMLEThWJiXgsRTdqY1hY18XuEYNdvbk58N6KK7/Busan%203.jpg)\n\n![Busan 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPxCXaBwLwDzbsH558C6M2f2AYiKcFLc44jE22sBDd5fi/Busan%204.jpg)\n\n![Busan 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc64eVojvECrRASP9sB8eGMFSVnfbroBzaRhXXnvKsRTb/Busan%205.jpg)\n\n![Busan 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYDQhaV6LxcaRHjKNMxuZ7GQ8WDREC1H47beJ4vxGZRj3/Busan%206.jpg)\n\n![Busan 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmctvi7FJLsDMnCMNxZzRyjScT1JgPzWteDVZk94zXDD5z/Busan%207.jpg)\n\n![Busan 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWfsXmSBuMuHgvjcjy4HLa1Sn3dE8SFFGb2FPZQJiBGmF/Busan%208.jpg)\n\n![Busan 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSNV9AUjNCC4EKJ26sZN8fSiYZjfij7SZ1uPwN5eJ7bTX/Busan%209.jpg)\n\nOn Saturday was my first typhoon experience, Typhoon Nakri was sweeping through all of South Korea and from the moment I stepped outside at 8AM and came back at 23H00 heavy rain was pouring non-stop.  That’s when I decided to visit a traditional Korean spa, also called jjimjilbang. I went to the most fancy in Busan (about £8 for 4 hours).The baths/hot springs are segregated by gender while the jjimjilbang floor is for everyone and contains amenities such as sauna, sleeping area, hairdresser, O2 capsules, PC room, karaoke room, Cinema room, massage, restaurant,  bar, etc… Many Koreans use Jjimjilbang as a cheap hotel where whole families would be just sleeping on the heated floor.  In the baths, locals are naked (compulsory) and being a foreigner is not a good excuse. Coming from a Latin country, I had a hard time convincing myself to do it the Korean way but that’s another example when travelling alone can be really handy as it did not have to do it around people I knew J It was actually to my surprise a really good experience and I wonder why these establishments are not more widespread. The level of service offered in these establishments is absolutely outstanding and many Koreans are going there on a daily basis after work to relax.\n\n![Busan 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQrutHzaVxVehEayWtNsZUXLyB15h8qeeYBGzPzk2qRbA/Busan%2010.jpg)\n\n![Busan 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc1JFu5HMumeR2f5tpF1LMfonw6r4mQ9KRYa3oFfbHD8j/Busan%2011.jpg)\n\nThinking about a way to escape the ongoing typhoon in South Korea, I decided to move on to Japan. I had no idea when starting my Trans-Siberian trip that I would go to South Korea and Japan. I’m now just making up my travels plan as I go! Going by ferry and by plane was about the same price, but since I’m not in a hurry and it’s been years I haven’t stayed on a ferry; I felt a 19 hours ferry trip to Osaka was a good adventure.  Unfortunately, the website of the company operating these tours was only in Korean & Japan but with the help of a friendly girl at the hotel; I was put through an English speaking operator over the phone to book my ticket. I just had to provide my passport details and come to pick up (and so pay later ?!!) my ticket. On the next day, at the ferry terminal I met an old Korean “English interpreter volunteer” who I befriend and started to tell me some interesting stories about the Korean war (1950-1953). He learned English via the American marines during and after the war.  He recalled how afraid he was when he saw for the first time a black American soldier.\n\nSouth Korea on the contrary of China have really good relationship with USA as they are grateful that thanks to the American contribution to the war, they are not now on the “wrong side” of the border.\n\nTrying now on the ferry to sort out what to do and see in Osaka :)\n\n![Busan 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXESZQ8n5J6Bde1CJqHd87NdDdN6apLeyXkCQ7fe8C861/Busan%2012.jpg)\n\nSome random videos of South Korea :\n\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVWp93Ri-z0",
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      "title": "Trans-mongolian trip - Seoul",
      "body": "As I mentioned several times, China is a crowded country. You can experience it in many daily situations and it can extend to the airports where my outbound flight from Shenzhen to Seoul was delayed by 1 hour because there were too many planes which needed to take off!!  Interestingly at Shenzhen airport, I came across the below panel where Taiwan did not seem to fit into the International departure category …\n\n![Seoul 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmf2HA7rRSCUgSBP48v3Z8B93T3zruibT375VGxM45KbRv/Seoul%201.jpg)\n\nI landed in South Korea in the evening. At the border control, they took my fingerprints along with a picture of me.  Facilities at the airport are even more modern than in China. I then took a train to Seoul downtown, looking forward to discover a country whose movies & pop star music are sweeping throughout Asia, especially China where it’s even more popular than Chinese movies. The first think I noticed in Seoul public transport is that Koreans are actually waiting for people inside to leave the bus/subway before actually getting in; an unexpected behaviour after just spending a month in China where people had less courtesy. Another amusing fact is the cheer amount of advertising for plastic surgery which is a widespread practise for Korean girls. Many Koreans are ready to spend a fortune to have a whiter skin and European face. The most Famous Korean actors/actress have all undergone plastic surgery and look so perfect that many girls feel pressured to spend a lot of money in cosmetics (whose stores are all over the place, especially French one) and physical surgery to find a husband & good job. From a westerner point of view, Koreans are quite tall; many are reaching my height (1m90) and they are wearing clothes as a westerner.\n\n![Seoul 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPgivHZDHYABnejNEgzvQQEwvmEfdatQdK7cZVCNbFwEe/Seoul%202.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmchGoUUKwp9TrqEUn244TDhJDVeLbW5a3nsv4mJZrQX69/Seoul%203.jpg)\n\nAs soon as I arrived to my hostel, I enquiry about going onto a tour at the border with North Korea which was something I always dreamt of experiencing. Unfortunately, it takes 2 working days to do the background check so I spent the 2 first days in Seoul exploring this modern city.\n\n![Seoul 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQY16Se9UovrXP8v2AmhK7gU2s7ya29DLT4cpaUhbjHGm/Seoul%204.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdxEQk3fXpWK7M7gGcnGYB58iheoeDM3LsJqcYi1vEZyY/Seoul%205.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmW5kfxe15jpC7f7umrDf9ssjiQ6cGMFgC6i6QJyDTM9dv/Seoul%206.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUCrRhSyq43nQ86pQkDhqJsnkF5gi8xeYhVr9tKiYouFg/Seoul%207.jpg)\n\nI had a typical Korean dinner with a local I met and I was really surprised by the amount of food and side dishes they throw on the tables.\n\n![Seoul 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZEei78AZFBtvzi1js36GwBn9537HRRedY6wvLoimJ3P4/Seoul%208.jpg)\n\nThe third day I finally went onto my tour to the DMZ and JSA (Joint Security Area). We drove North of Seoul for just about 50 min as the border with North Korea is only about 45 km from South Korea capital (scary!). There is a main highway in parallel of the DMZ from where you can see barbed wires, fences and watchtowers manned by armed soldiers as far as you can see (over 250km). As part of the DMZ tour, we were taken to an observatory where with binocular you can check out across the border a North Korean village (main sightseeing: the third highest flagpole in the world) then to an underground tunnel discovered in the 70’s and built by North Koreans to move infantry behind South Korean lines and launch surprise attacks to Seoul. It’s worth noting that South Korean mean need to service 2 years in the army and are de facto reservists up until the age of 49.\n\n![Seoul 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSfoQ5NtPz4qxVGTcxt98bRok7r2ZgLvchicnwd68A2fY/Seoul%209.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWKpTTQV822EnvNRnc3iR6XgG1fo8FU7tF4DLR6tiy94K/Seoul%2010.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbiA8zvyE2q978nN99Y4pERkGF9pb9K5kM1yLQopQBCSb/Seoul%2012.jpg)\n\nFinally, was the visit to the joint security area (manned jointly by South & North Koreans). We arrived at the UN run Bonifas camp, manned by American & South Koreans soldiers. Had a briefing on the DMZ and JSA, were led into a shop selling imported North Koreans products and currency. Serving at the Joint Security Area is a great honour and pride for South Korean soldiers as only the elite soldiers can be assigned there. They need to be above 1m70, black belt in Judo or Taekwondo, excellent military credentials and family background.   During their shifts, they must be wearing Sun glasses and clench their fists in a threatening posture to impress North Koreans soldiers.\n\nWe then took a military bus under escort to take us to the site all the way through the DMZ. At first, we could only see one North Korean soldier at the other side checking us out through binoculars so was rather disappointing although the sight of the South Koreans solders facing the military line was really impressive. Went to one of the meeting house, after a soldier went in first to guard the exit door to North Korea to ensure nobody would do something foolish.\n\nWhen we were about to leave, we noticed North Korean tourists at the other side and suddenly North Korean soldiers started to run towards the demarcation line. There were 3 between each meeting home. What was really interesting to observe is that amongst their team, one soldier was facing the North Korean tourists rather than the South Korean side and the 2 other were behind facing each other parallel to the demarcation line. Once the tourists left, they left too. I then realize that they were not so much worried about South Korean soldiers crossing the line to North Korea but the prospects of their own soldiers defecting to the South!!\n\n![Seoul 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmetU5XggRngn8aeiysBESTe2Az7BexNtZZVhgESmQJ2oB/Seoul%2013.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRTwxndBdYcHCdHmkHS74JvtaEVrvhxyhUC3XBNqrKDBW/Seoul%2014.jpg)\n\n![Seoul 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZDoEZPozYrbNpEKMnoKkhNejJMfGhkAuxSReW1WNUvV8/Seoul%2015.jpg)",
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      "body": "Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:\nhttp://www.trans-mongolian-trip.com/",
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      "title": "Trans-mongolian trip - SICHUAN",
      "body": "I arrived in Sichuan by night considerably pleased with the (slightly) lower temperature of Western China. The train ride was pleasant as further it was going West, the less buildings/skyscrapers I would see until the landscape turn onto just blue sky, rice paddies and mountains.\n\nThe capital, Chengdu has a completely different feel from the cities of Eastern China. Finally, I’m able to use public transports, walk in the streets without spending my time avoiding bumping into thousand of Chinese passing by all day long.\n\nI went the second night to a traditional mask changing show which was amazing. In the blink of an eye, the actors were wearing new masks and it seems to be a skill really difficult to acquire.\n\nSpent a lot of time going around tasting the famous spicy Sichuan Food . Hotpot is one of them.  You have basically a pool on your table divided between a spicy and a bit less spicy area where hot sauce is boiling then you order a lot of  raw meat and order dishes you will leave into the pool according to your taste.\n\n![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXYBPDGJwsaDCYHrVDRuvug63X4scY16en9TLYaArtVv3/image.png)\n\nSichuan province is as well famous for being the home of panda. It’s a tradition in China to give away panda to foreign allies/friendly countries as a sign of friendship. After spending a few hours watching them, I figure out they are really cute but the most lazzy animals I have encountered !\n\n![Chengdu 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc5HiCy2mao77yrRsJhRQTv5QYNx3aufdUa7zkZqN4sHz/Chengdu%202.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUGq2fNNLSsqowy7xPS658qFrkj2Nwrfo3vwtzYeutKJB/Chengdu%203.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPdTSgc44rmwvv8hA7RPfgNdbked7soH4RYgBPmxU24DX/Chengdu%204.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYeBfR5ZPThiZceg1N3ud2XbEN3igu2qxc1Xz4TCZxmeV/Chengdu%205.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmP3oo9SKU9FUSsTiDVpq35sBXFN7TFJ8sxmYQGJ42xxeH/Chengdu%206.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaYKdWmQPsjrYhQt7ATo6YFetk8djSb6jQQrYxX1jsy3R/Chengdu%207.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmY3Xq5xvDADrb99ZMabTr5C6rFtChZg7G3vfp76owLfRx/Chengdu%208.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 9.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmamFLjQTBF9pKi888XJbWkD32ySE6y95k1GWMmyx2SjNA/Chengdu%209.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRpFWBvUjdDRYZpRq7mBKig5Q5h6PEhAbgpEqcdPQbEaV/Chengdu%2010.jpg)\n\nLooking for some nature, I took a 9 hours bus to the Mountains of Sichuan near Tibet to Jizhaigou National Park. Park was beautiful but while I escaped the city. I did not manage to escape the thousands of Chinese on a weekend away to the park (they even built an airport nearby).  I spent a beautiful day hiking in the park in the company of an english speaking Chinese student who had interesting opinions about his country and politics.\n\n![Chengdu 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTdZxzRhqy4Q66sQqth1cf4ZcVCYGLhJBhAYNLaaAhMcD/Chengdu%2011.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPopZxJRgzTWE3VrToSQFsvKe5sNDzbcmeQCbXyDZHPs2/Chengdu%2012.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmemA88h4SMe3ZwdzXspBVuDXxUXfptKHpW8A4qZNsEygv/Chengdu%2013.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmS1gQgm6AZoLfzSRb4UiKnnCCTDDLpSTiJQaVrijjeKxY/Chengdu%2014.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 15.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdcFKnpDkSusk5GsdByfxKySP3xHXKiZaf7KqG7AXismZ/Chengdu%2015.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 16.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNPkgnKwaN1ED9KSzmNdAfR2DcM4eycZqgf85bjasyWkH/Chengdu%2016.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 17.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYqUVtZQfyexpdQGh7j9NYEcHrw2b5sAjoXpTMZd91Cbo/Chengdu%2017.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 18.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQYA64Yy2Z9BsYA8pGwYVHAJfUemKwc3qcbSxJ5zxtDUP/Chengdu%2018.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 19.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmao1w97k75pxKaLEYoFMEgiqNzV13jLkZW6Zy1iauiB4C/Chengdu%2019.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 20.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeFdBuWU429XXWMt3Z4sBvUeC7gnaphtcfM7aCR4yBqyG/Chengdu%2020.jpg)\n\n![Chengdu 21.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmWNs7MbiWbPrUV5azPDBe4NBFWXHKwMp4GQsoXJXCnDYN/Chengdu%2021.jpg)\n\nI could really feel that this area was Tibet, the locals and buildings had nothing much in common with China. Pity that foreigners can’t travel to Tibet without special permits and “organized tours”/”governments minders”.",
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      "title": "",
      "body": "@@ -378,8 +378,122 @@\n e again.\n+%0AIt turned out the taxis were in the end, the best way for a foreigner to get around as they are strictly policed.\n",
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      "body": "Ah, tourist scams abound everywhere. We got done in Bangkok by the tuktuk drivers. But, you (should) wise up pretty quick after the first one.\nAfter that, we found it hard to get a tuktuk that would just take us directly where we wanted to go. Then when we finally did, I made the fatal mistake of not having smaller bank notes. He of course did not have change. So we were done again.",
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      "title": "Trans-mongolian trip - SHANGHAI",
      "body": "I came to realize my blog was lagging behind my trip through China. There are several reasons for it:\n\n1: Facebook, Youtube & Google services are blocked which makes it more challenging to publish content on the blog\n\n2: My days and evenings are really busy; I’m seeing and doing so much that I’m losing motivation to write.\n\nAnyway, that post will be about Shanghai. I had high expectations when getting there: Shanghai is meant to be mainland China’s most international city. In truth, I would spot in the streets about 10-15 Westerners a day in this city of 20 million inhabitants. There were a bit more Chinese understanding English but not that many! The city is really modern and filled with skyscrapers. I was happy on my first day to see the sky after 1 week in Beijing, it only lasted a day but I had enough time to take some good shots. The financial center of Shanghai is impressive and you can really feel the area is splashed with cash.\n\n![Shanghai 1.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXzrz58crp6UtFP2crnaz7yURmy1WNNF2hqPhRZciAwjs/Shanghai%201.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 2.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmT8u4fiW1Rr4NNLnvseezgmKhxwykGCevE6NmLKUiyVsh/Shanghai%202.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbgbkxne584L9VtZ87mH4qb3419Br8hQWgkRpBgB7F35y/Shanghai%203.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 4.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZFiH6paZUj4XVRu4pZiboLYK9CsytSNkru9XhN7xVbkq/Shanghai%204.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 5.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmerFUm9woVp1FjH1TuW8ZUnbKpi7RPnL75qubT8L2sJxC/Shanghai%205.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 6.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVhzMoX47Sv1m5pVmdzhxkfWu3UEsqbpDRfkenRx8XCPb/Shanghai%206.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 7.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmSrw2ujxerirVZSB451nhnLgRGKA1f6Py8tXBTzySENpi/Shanghai%207.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 8.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbqKdt72R1Q1YWJ6uWeMtTbS3UG4EquDEEuQBECNcmQCi/Shanghai%208.jpg)\n\nEverywhere I go, modern high-rise buildings, Chinese with fancy clothes and cars. In Europe, China is being described as developing country but anything I see here, from the infrastructures, buildings, luxury shops and locals spending power makes me questioned whether I’m coming from a developed country. The mood here is really upbeat and future keeps getting brighter; light years away from continental Europe surviving on cheap credit/low interest rates.\n\nI headed towards the former French concession of Shanghai (which was French up to the 40’s). I loved the area, the streets were lined up with old trees, providing shelter from the sun and had some lovely parks; all of it as any typical French boulevards. You can there walk without having to spend your time in people jams like most of the Chinese cities (probably not many Chinese can afford to live in this district).\n\nIt’s so warm outside that nobody uses dryer, clothes hanging all over the place even on electrical wire!\n\nOn the first night, I went to the riverbank. I was approached by a pretty Chinese girl asking for help taking a picture of her. I obliged, then she chatted me up and took me to visit a Tea Ceremony. The ceremony was nice and tea I drunk really tasty but the bill too: 1200 renmibi (about £120)! I managed to reduce the cost to £50 by only paying my share and left thinking that the standard of living in Shanghai might be really high if locals could afford so expensive tea. Over the next days, I was approached several times by Chinese tourists with a perfect English asking me if I wanted to join them to a tea ceremony. I started to wonder .. and I Googled Tea Ceremony Shanghai in Google: SCAM !!! A pretty good one I would say\n\nI met a local named Anfia and went to spend the weekend visiting Hangzhou. Unfortunately, It was really rainy and going around in that city as you need to catch taxy which are in limited quantity so competition is fierce, especially when heaving tropical rain is pouring all over the place !\n\n![Shanghai 10.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNyRv8n7nSBcdn3p5M1x68MeByAZ3dMRUHa1ZYde9kqvK/Shanghai%2010.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 11.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTvZWCZQp1CFvo6861AC83vvueS85bSpt8vq8yyuyKUs9/Shanghai%2011.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 12.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTAxJHmiD7zJgafyJirtnjjWNWvWe4L3QbQCp8BnHXRTD/Shanghai%2012.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 13.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcwMPMthyFFwkhxfJAbt3qZf1oW1vZ1tkCngUDSZ9vUQ7/Shanghai%2013.jpg)\n\n![Shanghai 14.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPPR3GNvoZm4oXRtRW9XPccSpRVyrkG4AYnAaXHF1Tnmp/Shanghai%2014.jpg)\n\nTook on Tueday 15 an high speed train to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province; hoping to escape the humidity on the coastline.",
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