Lijiang & Shangri-La, Yunnan

Went to Lijiang and Shangri-La last December. It was a last minute plan since the kids and their mum were going back to Sarawak. Initially planned to do a train trip to Bangkok. Then a friend came along suggested to go to China, but he eventually opted for India. And since the air fare to Kunming was the cheapest (I got RM400 for a return trip), so I ended up going to Yunnan province on a solo trip. Although my arrival city was Kunming, I didn't spend much time in that city. Kunming was my transit point to Lijiang. I only had a glimpse of the city on my last day of the trip where I commuted from the train station to the airport. Maybe in my next visit I shall include Kunming as one of the itineraries.

Kunming Changshui International Airport (arrival hall)

One of the intersections in Kunming city, near the main train station

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Kumano Kodo - Day 2

After a good rest, I departed for Hosshimon-oji. The hotel provided free transit to the Hongu area, so I saved some time waiting for the bus. The plan for the day was a 7 km walk from Hosshimon-oji to Oyunohara. Since my next lodging was in the Yunomine Onsen area, I decided to add an extra walk from Oyunohara to Yunomine Onsen, which was about 2.2 km. At Hosshimon-oji, the trail is essentially a connecting route to the Takijiri trail. The previous stamping station was about 800 meters from Hosshimon-oji, so I made a detour to Inohana-oji. That detour added approximately 1.6 km to my journey, taking about 30 minutes or more. From Hosshimon-oji (after detouring via Inohana-oji), I started walking toward Hongu Taisha, which was about a 2.5-hour walk. Along the way, I stopped to rest and take photos. It was quite a leisurely walk. Part of the trail is paved, while the rest consists of forest paths lined with cypress trees (I guess). By the time I reached the town around Hongu Taisha, it w...

Last day in Sendai

After spending five days in Sendai, my visit here has finally come to an end. On my last day, I took a tour of the Kirin Beer Factory. I must say that the tour was quite informative—slightly better than the one I had at a beer factory in Malaysia. Visitors were able to touch, smell, and taste during the tour. We were served at least three different types of Kirin beer for tasting. Although the tour was short, it was uplifting. I had lunch at their restaurant, which was probably my most expensive meal during this trip to Sendai. In the afternoon, I took an Uber to Arahama Elementary School, which has now been turned into a museum. It is located on the eastern side of Sendai, an area that was hit by the tsunami following the earthquake on March 11, 2011. On that day, after the quake, the schoolchildren were evacuated to the rooftop of the building. About 27 hours later, they were all rescued. The school now exhibits the impact of the tsunami, the conditions on that day, and the aftermath...

Kumano Kodo - Day 1

Just came back from Osaka last week. It was my personal and solo trip of the year. There were only two main focuses of the trip — the Kumano Kodo and the Expo 2025 Osaka. Let me share my experience from the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage. Well, it felt more like a hike in my local hills. I chose a 4-day, 3-night walk with a boat trip included. This route was the simplest, covering only about 7 km of walking (though I added some extra distance for personal exploration). It was Route 3 of the Nakahechi route. By collecting 10 stamps along this route (at designated stamping points), I should be eligible for the Dual Pilgrim certificate if I complete the last 100 km on foot of the Camino de Santiago in Portugal. All my accommodations and packed lunches were arranged through the official Kumano Travel website. Although the booking response was a bit slow, I managed to receive confirmation about 2 or 3 weeks before my flight. To get to the Kumano area, I took a train (Kuroshio limited express) ...

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