Shwedagon Pagoda

Shwedagon Pagoda is a must-visit place in Yangon. Every tourist will have this place in the itinerary. The temple is considered one of the most sacred places in Myanmar. Last year, Dr. Mike and I took a local bus to the temple. It only cost us 200 kyats per trip (if I'm not mistaken); that was less than US$0.20 ! We reached there about 10 in the morning. Spent 2 hours exploring the temple compound. And we had rain at noon time. All in all, the place is worthy for a visit.

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Kaoshiung

I haven't finished recounting my journey in Sweden and Japan; I returned from Taiwan just two weeks ago. Here's a brief account of my recent visit there (although I still have unfinished tale from last year trip to Taiwan). My first stop was Kaoshiung. Spent a day and a half in the town, then I travelled to Tainan for a weekend symposium. I ended my journey in Taipei for another short hike. The weather in Kaohsiung was quite hot, comparatively. It's not my favorite weather for traveling. Perhaps I arrived there too early; had I come a few days later, the temperature would have been cooler. Since day time was hot, it would be wise to visit Pier 2 area during evening or night. Not many people / tourists in this town. It looked quiet. The next day, I took a ferry to Cijin. The ride was short, about 5 minutes. Cijin Island is a fisherman's village. On the opposite side of the island, there's a beach. It was serene but scorching, to the extent that I couldn't walk m

Hsinhua Forest Station, Tainan

Spent two nights at Hsinhua Forest Station after visiting Kaoshiung, in conjunction with the academic symposium. With an abundance of forest trees and greenery, this site is perfect for hiking and relaxation. Went on a short hike in the morning. Some sections of the forest need better upkeep though. Here are some photos of the area and plants. Photos were shot with iPhone 11

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route

Just came back from Japan last week. Went to Tokyo for conference and added side trip to Tateyama Alpine Route and Kanazawa. I must say that Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route was great. You can do the trip either from Nagano side or Toyama side. For us, we did it from the Nagano side. Took the Shinkansen to Nagano early morning. Then boarded the express bus to Ogizawa. From there, we boarded the tunnel electric bus to get to Kurobe Dam. From the dam, it was all the way up to the peak (almost). Murodo is the highlight of the route. This is the place where you get to see snow covered peak and lake. In spring, there's snow wall nearby Murodo station. From Murodo, we descended to Bijodaira and Tateyama Station to catch the local train back to Toyama. The fare for the entire route is not cheap, but it's worth it. A hike from Bijodaira to Murodo should be interesting, which can be considered in future. View from the tunnel electric bus, onward to Kurobe Dam Arrived at Kurobe Dam View of t

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