Aramayı sıfırla
Treading Through GaiaTreading Through Gaia
Rotayı düzenle
Treading Through Gaia

Treading Through Gaia

Leaving footprints around the world, one step at a time. Okumaya devam et🇯🇵Tokyo
Takip EtMesajİstatistik
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaChina

      Bing Lang Gu

      24 Aralık 2019, Çin ⋅ 25 °C

      The following day, we got up early to head to Bing Lang Gu, an ethnic village for the indigenous people. It was interesting to see something different from the usual Chinese scenery of Sanya. The architecture and craftsmanship was unique, we were able to see their way of life, how they created their artisanship and their homes which were quite connected to nature. After the tour, we had a buffet and headed to the rainforest. There were a lot of different plants and trees and flowers, surrounded by lush greenery, it was really fun to just walk around the place. We had some tea inside a bungalow. I have such low heat tolerance so I had to wait for a while before I was ready to drink the tea. We tried different kinds of tea and all were pretty good. We also did a zipline across the rainforest, ending the day at a high-rise glass bridge. At night, we took a stroll going to the beach itself was quite peaceful, it was very dark and chilly with a lot of lanterns lit. We found our way to the beach and enjoyed walking across the coast, the seabreeze brushing on our skin and our feet feeling the soft sand. We collected some seashells and promised to take them back. She was so cute. Going back, we had a little picture taking of our own playing with the red lanterns on the wooden catwalk on the way back to the hotel.Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaChina

      Nanshan

      23 Aralık 2019, Çin ⋅ 27 °C

      We went to Nanshan`s Buddhism temple complex, needless to say it was huge. My family had trouble getting their stuff together and it was bothering me as well how chaotic everything was. We made our way to the center where we took a tram. We saw the statue of Guan Yin up close and took some commemorative photos. We then went to have lunch, a lot of delicious meals served in succession. Afterwards, Janelle and I had some time to explore the place on our own. We got the map and started to walk around, encountering a beautiful lake with lily pads, various temples and gardens as well as beautiful statues and Chinese architecture. I was very happy to be able to spend this time with her and to be able to experience this place with her. We did a small hike up top and she got mad because I was too gung-ho and left her, which was my bad, I was too excited. We also went to the sea side temple and got an awesome view of the towering statue from the rocky coast. After enjoying the sea breeze, we started to head back. We grabbed a cab and headed to another hotel where my family was having a buffet. The food selection was simply scrumptious, and with our bellies full, we retired for the day.Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaChina

      Yalong Bay

      22 Aralık 2019, Çin ⋅ 27 °C

      I woke up and took a shower and went to meet my now friend from yesternight. We ate breakfast with another Chinese dude and I just let him lead me to the right bus. Good thing he was there. We got on the bus which was a bit crowded, but I got to sit. It was a relatively packed and noisy bus ride, beside us were two Russian girls. We ended up striking some conversation with them on the bus, turns out they were also heading to Yalong bay so we decided to go together. All four of us got down and headed to the beach, we set up our things and just talked for a bit. The two girls were Julia and Tasha. Julia could speak English but not Tasha but we somehow could still vibe well with Julia translating sometimes. They shared with us the fruit they "got" from their hotel which was a blessing to eat on the beach. It was delicious.

      Apparently, Julia and Tasha are married however my Chinese friend didn't seem to understand this concept. We talked about gender politics in Russia as well as cannabis. We had some fun swimming and just talking, going back to bask in the sun. My Chinese friend invited me to go find food for some late lunch so I went with him. There was a little kid studying in the restaurant, most likely the child of the owners. My friend treated me to a good meal, I am thankful for that. He also gave me a shell necklace, super dope. I wore it the whole day. The afternoon came and passed and our two Russian friends decided to go to another beach. Us two guys decided to stay, I was still hoping for a sunset but the weather was quite cloudy, looks like there wasn't going to be one. As the skies darkened, there seemed to be another party happening at the back. I got to know my friend a lot, about his life, the Chinese mindset, and how much the government had an effect over their actions and thought. I added him on WeChat as that was the only thing he had.

      We took a long walk to find the bus, he was supposed to help me find it but he ended up meeting his Egyptian friend. They started talking and seemed like he wanted to go with him. So I told him I'd be fine on my own, even though I'm pretty sure I couldn't find the bus stop as I did not have any wifi on me to look for directions. I ended up taking a taxi instead to the hotel, to meet my family and girlfriend as this trip is actually a family reunion for Christmas. I arrived and waited for a bit and saw everyone, it was very pleasant. I was really happy to be united with Janelle again after a long time of long distance. We spent the night together just talking and getting ready for the next day.      Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaChina

      Sanya

      21 Aralık 2019, Çin ⋅ 30 °C

      After getting into a mishap at Shanghai airport (I didn’t know the ticket I booked required me to transfer to a different airport within Shanghai after sleeping a couple of hours, some girls talking woke me up and I realized I had to find a last minute taxi past midnight to make it to my flight.) I arrived safely in Sanya. It was hot but since it was a seaside province, the weather was comfortably temperate. I tried to ask for directions for the bus terminal but I was handed a piece of paper with some drawings instead, I had to crack it like some kind of code but managed to find my way. Chinese people were very different, even inside the bus they were loud and rowdy and it was quite fun seeing people so open albeit it’s hard to find one’s peace. I got dropped a bit far from my hostel and I had to walk a couple of blocks, tired and sleepy from the uneventful airport adventures. I was able to find my hostel after walking around the block a couple of times as it was pretty hidden around some alleys. I checked-in just fine and crashed for a couple of hours, waking up in a daze, I decided to make the most out of this day and started to head to Luhuitou Park.

      It was a long walk with a lot of slopes going up, now I hadn’t recovered from my long trip coming here so I found myself getting winded quite easily. I was able to see life in the city and for some weird reason there was a guy with a painted face in Shrek’s costume screaming on his phone which was super funny. There were also a lot of video bloggers around carrying these mini tripods and I’ve never seen these things before, it was really interesting. I reached Luihuitou's entrance. There were trees adorned with bottles and other ornaments, it was pretty. Turns out to enter the park, you had to buy a ticket. I bought my ticket and went on to find out that the park itself was a hill, meaning I had to hike a lot to reach the peak. It was quite fun to take a rest in those hillside gazebos. The views kept getting prettier the higher I got, seeing the seaside and beautiful buildings of Sanya was quite a sight. There were deer as well, they seemed to be a sacred animal and had something to do with the legends of the Luhuitou. Strangely, at the peak there were Russian dancers, seemed like they are hired by the park to perform for the Chinese. I finished circling the area and tried to see as much as I can from gardens to statues and headed back down, which was easier.

      The air smelled great and I decided to go to the beach. It was calm and peaceful but also a bit dark, I sat down and enjoyed the sound of the waves and the presence of the ocean. After that, I decided to get something to eat so off I went in search of affordable but delicious food. I walked on the way to my hostel and found a place to eat beef noodle soup. It definitely hit the spot. I went back to my hostel to find another person in my room. He was Chinese, friendly and quite talkative. He told me about the stuff he had done and I told him my plans for the next day. Surprisingly, he dropped everything he planned on doing and decided to go with me instead to Yalong bay. I guess... I was down for it? I was just a bit tired and wanted to get some sleep. I went to bed, being woken up a few times by people coming and going but otherwise all was well.      Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaRussia

      Moscow

      27 Temmuz 2019, Rusya ⋅ 26 °C

      I had a whole day in Moscow, as I rushed to finish immigration and to get out of the airport to make the most out of my short time, I exchanged what little money I had left but I got caught in a bind as I didn't know how to get to the Red Square, where most of the tourist spots were. Luckily there was a girl named Kamille, we were about the same age and she knew English. We were heading in the same direction, I got on the bus but didn't actually pay for it as I didn't even know how. She laughed and said it was fine, she helped me buy some train tickets as well. I was able to arrive without problems and explore the area at leisure. The red facade of the Historical State Museum was something I've never seen before. Saint Basil's Cathedral was also very resplendent. I bode my time, exploring the area but I was also getting hungry. I went inside GUM, it was intereting to see a place that we actualy studied in school. I went to the top floor and ordered the cheapest thing I could find, some hotdog, unfortunately I couldn't try any Russian food. Surprisingly there were a lot of Chinese tourists, probably because they are neighbors and have good political affiliation. The lines for Lenin's mausoleum were insane and I am glad I skipped that part. I was able to see the show for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the surrounding park was also really beautiful.

      I fell in line for a long time to buy a ticket to the Kremlin grounds. I was able to find the right entrance after several mishaps, all the while carrying my heavy backpack. The Kremlin had less people thankfully, I was able to stroll leisurely around the area. The gold-tipped roof of the various churches were very eye-catching, the interior just as amazing. I lazed about on one of the benches, shaded by a tree. Wondering to myself, how in the world did I end up in Russia from Greece & Egypt. It really made me happy. As the sun began to set, I went back to the train station and set off for the airport. It was quite an eventful day.

      PS: Kamille is now married to a Korean. She is also a mother to a baby boy and they are living happily in South Korea.      Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaEgypt

      Cairo VI

      26 Temmuz 2019, Mısır ⋅ 32 °C

      I arrived at night, and took an Uber motor to City Stars mall but not without being scammed another few pounds but I was already done with Egypt at this point. Nuri was there and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank her in person for all the help she gave me. I went to the meeting spot inside the mall and was approached by another girl. Her name was Yuri and she was from Libya. She was Nuri's friend. She took me to where Nuri was and Nuri treated me to a refreshing smoothie. We talked for a long time as my flight was still past midnight. I'm glad they enjoyed my company as I did theirs. We said our goodbyes and I took my final cab to the airport. Next stop: Moscow.Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaEgypt

      Alexandria II

      26 Temmuz 2019, Mısır ⋅ 30 °C

      I woke up, got showered and headed out with Omar. He told me about his biking club, the Healthkeepers and that we could meet up later for lunch. I walked around the city, it was serene. I sat on one of the benches and just let time pass, completely at peace. I went to a park and watched some people play table tennis, and people-watched down the beach below, it was fun to watch how the dogs interacted with one another. Omar sent me a message on where to meet-up and off I went, I was able to see the whole bike club and took a picture with them. We all went inside this nice cozy restaurant and I sat next to Rowan and Mahmoud. I told them my story so far in Egypt and they really liked Saber's story from Luxor.

      After lunch, I parted ways with the group and went off to meet with Richard once again. This time his girlfriend Radwa was there. Both of them are really nice people and the conversations we shared were super interesting. Radwa left us after awhile and Richard told me their story, I call them starcrossed lovers as Radwa's family wasn't the best kind and kept her tight on a leash, Richard converted to Islam just to be with her, he really wants to take her away from Egypt as Radwa was also quite fluent in Czech so I could only wish them well. Soon, it was time for me to go, I got to meet with Mina again and both he and Richard rode the tram with me to see me off, they accompanied me all the way to the jeep and gave me some money as I fumbled for change so I wouldn't miss my bus. I had to get on another jeep, I gave the driver a bill and sat down. One of the passengers asked if I got my change and when I answered I didn't, everyone on the jeep started yelling at the driver so the driver gave me my change. Thanks people! I was able to catch my bus going back to Cairo without any problems thanks to everyone's help.

      PS: Richard and Radwa now live together in Czech, they are quite happy and I am very much elated that they got their happy ending.      Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaEgypt

      Alexandria

      25 Temmuz 2019, Mısır ⋅ 31 °C

      I was in touch with a guy, Amir. He offered to drive me around Alexandria. Life in Alexandria was quite more open I would say, compared to Cairo. Though the traffic is as hectic as ever. We stopped by to get some brunch, Amir treated me to a lot of traditional Egyptian food, each very delicious. He took me to a huge mosque, I was hesitant to enter at first but anyone can enter if they want to. I took off my shoes and entered the hallowed place. Muslims were in front, praying, the inside was extremely beautiful. Arabic geometric design with comfortable carpet flooring. The men and women had separate spaces. Just relaxing and chilling inside was great.

      Alexandria was also much cooler compared to the other Egyptian countries, probably because it was facing the sea. A took me to other places, the Citadel of Qaitbay, which I didn't bother to pay to enter, just outside was enough. He even bought me some ice cream, I think all Muslims are this hospitable when it comes to having guests based on my experience. He took me to this luxury area to see the gardens and some royal vacation homes and as he drove me around we just talked about Islam, his life and life in Egypt and Alexandria. I edged him on to tell me his love story on how he met and courted his wife, and much to my surprise stating that he also wanted to get a second wife someday. This prompted me to ask if it was okay for him if his wife got a second husband too in which he replied it wasn't as she is a woman. I stopped right there as I didn't want to get into an argument of gender equality when he was so graciously driving me around the city. He had a daughter as well, he spoils her with a lot of love this I know.

      I did have a place to stay in Alexandria. Omar was coincidentally the host of Arianne and Alex back from my Greece trip and also the Couchsurfing ambassador of Egypt. They stayed with him too and I just happened to see his profile, he quickly agreed to host me but I had to get there a bit late at night so I had a lot of time to spare. Amir offered to drop me off my final stop as he needed to get back to work. I decided to spend the rest of the day inside the fabled Alexandria library, now rebuilt to be super impressive. Best thing, it was very cold inside. The library was huge and had a lot of sectors, I tried to find a quiet place to just relax and sit and let the time pass by. After a couple of hours, I decided to leave the place and head to the coastal area.

      There, I was blessed with a wonderful sunset. There were also two guys sitting right beside me, who I guess were interested in seeing a tourist in the area. They started to talk to me in what English they could muster. Now, I didn't know what to make of it as I couldn't really feel out their vibe but we ended up talking and decided to get dinner together. I asked for a koshary place and they took me to some alleys, I was quite suspicious at first but we got to a good restaurant and I ate my fill. Omar apologized for being late but pointed me to one of his friends, Richard. Richard was also a strong member of the Couchsurfing community, he's Czech and was studying in Alexandria for the time being. He told me where to meet and I headed there with the two guys, who apparently were brothers. One of them bid me farewell, and I was stuck with the older one of the two. Along the way to meet Richard, the guy asked if he could ask some money. This pissed me off quite a bit because I had thought we were good friends and I already had a good impression, I let him know my feelings and he quickly apologized.

      I got to meet with Richard, who brought me to meet more of his friends, Seif and Mina and some other guy while the person I was with went on his way. We went to a hookah place and had some food. I told them stories from Japan and they all seemed so into it, it was funny. They didn't even know that fireflies existed. We talked for a long time, switching restaurants and I had so much leftover at the end of the night.

      I went to Omar's place finally, it was definitely a high-end house. It was huge and air-conditioning in Egypt is always a boon. I took a shower and he smoked me up with some Afghani hashish. As part of his custom, he asked me to share some music. I let him listen to Mykonos, one of the songs that I've held on to ever since I left Greece, the song that kept me company while I was bedridden in Cairo. Omar had to get up early tomorrow, and I was fine with that so we bid each other good night and went to bed.      Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör
    • Treading Through GaiaTreading Through GaiaEgypt

      Luxor II

      24 Temmuz 2019, Mısır ⋅ 36 °C

      The next morning, I awoke and greeted Saber. He was waiting for me and we both went outside to head back to the city center as I had a tour to explore a lot of Luxor's major sites. We stopped by to get breakfast, and even though I had pleaded, he still paid for my breakfast, delicious bread with vegetables inside. I dropped by the docks and got on his felucca, where he made some tea. It was a good way to start the morning, he also offered his boat's storage compartment so I can store my bag in his boat while I toured so it wouldn't hinder me too much. All of that without even asking for baksheesh.

      I waited in front of Luxor hotel, the meeting place I set up and soon the tour van came. I jumped inside and sat on the back, most of them were Chinese tourists but there was a white young guy sitting with me at the back. We weren't really talking, our first stop was the Valley of Kings, I tried to use my student ID for a discount and got it luckily. There were 3 tombs we were able to dive in to, the hieroglyphics and just how ancient they were enough to make me marvel at them. The inside were strictly no pictures, and there were "guards" lurking about checking the phones of tourists. People took pictures and sometimes they got away with it, sometimes they don't. Anyways, I was both the former and the latter. In the first 2 tombs, I got some nice photos, but the last one, a guy approached me and asked to check my phone. He saw some photos and counted them and asked for 20 pounds for each photo. I offered to delete it but he wasn't having it so I tried to stall as much as possible and just told him to meet my tour guide instead, so I dragged him all the way up as he offered me to pay him less, but I just climbed all the way up the tomb. At least, he had to work for it. My tour guide and the guy started to argue and I paid him off with just 20 pounds. The pics weren't even that good, to be honest.

      Our next stop was the Temple of Hatshepsut, that temple was really dope and beautiful with such intricate architecture with a mountain looming behind. I started talking to the guy I was sitting with in the back, Mitch. He caught on that I was using an old student ID. After the temple, we visited the Colossi of Memnon, and then a souvenir store and watched some people perform a musical number. We had a lunch buffet and then stopped by a hotel lobby to chill for a bit, which was quite odd for the tour but it allowed us to escape from the heat. Mitch and I talked a lot here, talking about our own adventures and trading life stories.

      Our last two stops for the day was Karnak temple and Luxor temple, both amazing places with these carved columns and having a mix of both Christianity, Islam and ancient Egypt. We explored the place and helped take pictures of each other, we went to some hidden places and ran away when we got caught cuz we knew they would be asking for money. It was fun, jumping across scaffoldings and going through a labyrinth of walls. After the tour, we opted to just say good bye and go off on our own without getting transported back. We stopped by McDonald's to get some frozen treats, getting offered hash by a random street peddler on the way. I invited Mitch to stop by Saber's felucca and he agreed. We spent the remaining of the afternoon sipping tea while watching the scarlet sun set across the Nile. It was a moment. Mitch said good bye and I also had to start getting ready as I had to catch my night bus that night going back to Cairo. Saber, being Saber still paid for my transportation on the way back to his place so I could take a shower, and bought me dinner for the road ahead. We ate on the street while talking about his faith. I wished him well and left for the bus terminal. It was fun waiting for the bus, as I had no goals and just had to relax. I got on the bus and got ready to sleep.      Okumaya devam et

      Çeviriyi gör

    Kendi seyahat profilinize kavuşun

    Ücretsiz

    QR code

    iOS için FindPenguinsAndroid için FindPenguins

    • 2025© FindPenguins
    • Ana sayfa
    • Hakkımızda
    • Grup takibi
    • Basın
    • Hükümler
    • Gizlilik & Cookies
    • Yardım Merkezi
    • Damga