Oh East Asia! 😍
Looking back 4 years ago. I went to my first ever trip in East Asia starting with Hong Kong, still a noob. You know, creating a jam-packed, super hectic 5D/4N itinerary that clearly didn’t think it through. Can you imagine only spending a half day at Ocean Park Hong Kong? 🤣 I also made my first ever hotel booking in Agoda. And that was the beginning…
Fast forward today. Wow! I still can’t believe I’ve finally set foot in all East Asian countries!!! Including the hermit kingdom of North Korea. Traveling to Mainland China was the hardest but the most rewarding! Even though I lost my wallet with all my money and credit cards and ATM on our last day before crossing Mongolia, the amount of help I got from the locals was deeply heartwarming that I thought to myself, “Kesha, you’re gonna be fine!”. 🤞
So I want to share the highlights, my craziest most unforgettable experience in each East Asian country!
Seeing a real panda 🐼 for the very first time in Hong Kong 🇭🇰
There was a point in my life where I was so obsessed with pandas! I mean, who doesn’t? They are just the cutest! And you can’t argue with me! Those adorable innocent eyes, fur-ball bodies with squishy bellies are just irresistible! I just can’t miss the chance to finally see a real one in Ocean Park Hong Kong. Even if it would mean spending only a half day there! We tried our best to squeeze in a quick visit. Sure it wasn’t satisfying but seeing an actual lazy sleeping panda was so enough for me at that time. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Read more: Chasing Pandas in Ocean Park Hong Kong
Casino Hopping 💰💰💰in Macau 🇲🇴
I have a confession. I’m not a gambler because…….I don’t have money to gamble in the first place. 🤣 Everything we did in Macau was all first time for me! Like it was my first time entering a casino and playing a slot machine!
Fortunately, the Casinos there usually offer free membership sign up for all the first time visitors. You just have to show your passport and they’ll give you a membership card after they process your account. Our first stop was Casino Oceanus as advised by someone we met at the immigration. They gave us a lot of freebies including a food voucher, a souvenir key-chain, and some credits to get us started in being an official gambler. Haha Next stop was MGM Grand Macau then we head over to Wynn Casino just next to it to use their bathroom. Yes, they were kind enough to let us use their bathroom even if we were just passing by! 😉 And DAMN! It was the fanciest most glamorous bathroom I have ever been to so far (up to this date). Every detail was luxurious! I’m dead serious. Our last stop was Venetian Macau, because we couldn’t resist the famous grand canal.
The struggle in visiting the famous Ghibli Museum in Japan 🇯🇵
In case you didn’t know, I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli films. I have a high regard for Mr. Hayao Miyazaki and I love Totoro so much. He’s my favorite cartoon character next to Spongebob 😊 But if you were to ask me which Ghibli movie is my favorite? It would be Porco Rosso. The kind of love that Marco and Gina shares is just painfully beautiful…but not meant to be. 😔 I’m a sucker for sad beautiful tragic love affair.
When my chance to travel Japan finally came, I told myself I must visit the Ghibli Museum come what may. But securing admission tickets was crucial as it normally sells out fast, like faster than Shinkansen! I’m not even kidding.
Fortunately, I had a classmate from college who is working in Japan that time. I asked him a favor to buy me the tickets in advance. Our trip was on November and they started rolling out the tickets on October. But he didn’t make it. 😭😭😭 Our chosen dates was already sold out when he went to Lawson. 😭 I was devastated but I had to find a way. I can’t go to Japan without visiting Ghibli Museum. What’s the point? I tried to search for rescue online and came across this travel agency called Voyagin. They sell last-minute Ghibli Museum tickets but it costs almost 7 times the original price. 😞 FMFL!!! Do I have a choice? No. So I went for it. It hurts my budget so bad but I just told myself it’s going to be worth it.
On the actual day, my friends drop me off at the museum and they went ahead to Inokashira park to find some chill. To be honest, It didn’t meet my expectation but I think it was all because everything was in Japanese. I mean I appreciate all the intricate exhibits, how the movies were made in a traditional way, the art and the creativity combine to create a film that is adored and loved by all ages! The place is charming itself. But it would have been better if there was somehow a translation, even just a small part of it. Nevertheless, it was a feast in my eyes.
And by the way, strictly no photos allowed inside.
Falling for someone while traveling for the first time…in Taiwan 🇹🇼
Before I even begin, let me just clarify that this has nothing to do with him. Nothing at all. Everything is all about me and my silly feelings for him.
It’s still vivid in my memory. That one morning, I went to the reception at the 11th floor of the hostel to ask about Starbucks reservation in Taipei 101. I was wearing a red skirt paired with loosely floral long sleeves and a towel wrapped around my head(because my hair was still wet) walking towards the front desk. I saw him, our eyes met for the very first time. The atmosphere suddenly released a strong magnetic field that I couldn’t resist. It was intense attraction. I tried my best to contain myself and talked to him. He was gentle and very polite and sooo handsome!!!!
Unfortunately, the Starbucks line was constantly busy so we never got a reservation. It was my heart that got reserved instead! AW 😜 (Are you cringing already? 😂 I know it’s crazy. But it’s real. 😞)
Did we became friends? Well, I assumed. 😁 Do we still keep in touch? 2 years have passed already but surprisingly yes. 😊 Do I still have the same feelings? I think not as much as before but yes. 🙈 I’m so pathetic I know. Judge me all you want. But I won’t deny. Does he know about this? Well, it doesn’t really matter. Nothing will change. His existence, albeit 1028 miles far, continues to inspire me and unconsciously challenges me to become better especially at my photography. He has a PRO level skills in photography that I recently discovered which made me admire him even more.
I left my heart in Taiwan since 2016. And I haven’t met a better man since then. 😶
Read more: Taiwan Unforgettable Adventures
Attacked by little humans in South Korea 🇰🇷
So we visited the famous Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea wearing a traditional Korean attire called “Hanbok” to enter the place for free. Of course, we took tons of photos while doing our best to be in character. After some time of exploring, we stumble upon this group of school kids wearing a traditional Korean costumes as well. Love at first sight instantly! I asked their teacher if I could take a photo of the kids but the teacher offered to take the photo of us with the kids instead! 😍😍😍
They broke their line and literally attacked us. This baby girl was clingy and tried to sit on my lap but she struggled so she just wrapped her little hands around my neck for the photo! She was so adorable it melts my heart!!!!!!! The boys were curious of the traditional belt my friend was wearing so they pulled it. hahaha. Also, can you zoom in that little boy wearing black? HAHAHA
Read more: What They Won’t Tell You About South Korea
Our long arduous yet fun-filled journey to Erenhot, China with 2 cancelled flights and 12-hour bus ride 🇨🇳
We were so ready to embark on our last domestic flight in China bound for Erenhot, border town between China and Mongolia, from Beijing when the cabin crew stopped us. We’re stuck outside the plane for some time wondering what went wrong. Then finally they informed us that our flight got cancelled due to bad weather in Erenhot. I would normally take this unfortunate event as chill as possible just like in Bali last time because of Mt. Agung eruption but in China, it was completely different. The fact that the airport guy who was directing us doesn’t know how to speak in English, made me so uneasy. We took the airport bus back to the boarding gate and everyone was upset, speaking all at once. It was chaotic. We tried to use our translator app to communicate with him but he kept ignoring us. He’s rude. We were hopeless.
Until this gorgeous Chinese woman rescued us. Her English name is Georgina. She was kind and speaks English well. She took care of us. We were then joined by other foreigners(from Mongolia) who can only communicate with English as well. We never left Georgina’s side since then. Haha All of us foreigners/strangers became good friends, bonded by the same goal, to reach Erenhot the next day. I love that kind of friendship that blooms out of a bad situation.
Our flight was rescheduled the next day so all of us were sent to a hotel to rest for the night. The morning came and we ate breakfast together, getting to know each other more. But still no luck with our flight! Georgina informed us that our flight in the afternoon was cancelled again. Goddamn it! So we chartered a sleeping bus going to Erenhot instead as our last resort. It’s my first time riding a Chinese sleeping bus. It was tight but the bed was more comfortable compared to the K28 sleeper train from Dandong last time. And the best part? The view along the way was just amazing! We passed by the Great Wall in Badaling area!!! It’s really beautiful <3
What a journey it has been…
Was caught filming a video in North Korea 🇰🇵
We never had our own personal English guide who will exclusively look after us during our tour in Sinuiju. That’s why I took the liberty to just capture anything that attracts me. On our way back to the main town after lunch, I recorded a video while passing the famous Sino-Korean Friendship bridge so that I have a footage from North Korea perspective. Our male guide was explaining something when he suddenly waved his hand to get our attention at the back. My friend saw him making a sign pointing at me, basically wanting me to stop with whatever I was doing with my camera. Margie frantically grabbed my hand telling me to stop. I got startled from my seat and looked at them and they were looking at me. Oh shit!
He continued with his discussion in Chinese like nothing happened but I was already panicking at the back. I mean, should I delete the pictures/videos now? The “life” in this part of North Korea that I manage to capture. I don’t want to.Then I remember what happened to Otto Wombrier and his tragic death. Fuck!
When we disembarked from the bus, I saw him coming towards me. Shit! He slowly approached me and said, “Please don’t take pictures while inside the bus. You can only take pictures when you are outside the bus.” (Basically the places that’s part of our itinerary). I humbly replied, “Ok. I’m sorry.”
I’m dead. I just took the initiative to delete the photos and videos. But the way he delivered those statements didn’t sound life threatening though so I didn’t delete them all. Instead, I just purposely drain my camera battery and was ready to face the consequences of the my action.
I really need to improve my stealth moves.
Read more: Day Trip to North Korea. The Longest 8 Hours Of My Life
Receiving a Marriage Proposal in Mongolia 🇲🇳
After settling our things in our ger, we visited the nomad family hosting us as a sign of respect. We walked towards the farthest ger on the left and we were greeted by our guide, the two adorable kids that we met earlier and this huge man who happened to be the head of the nomad family living there. He looked chill but he’s aura was strict like a disciplinarian dad, a man with authority. Our guide was translating for us as he can’t speak English.
Our guide said that the host was pleased that he(our guide) brought beautiful girls and we are welcome to stay and marry his 3 sons. We were shocked upon hearing this. We knew it was a joke but the host’s facial expression was kind of “Hehe I’m serious girls” with a smirk at the end. All of us chuckled but my friends teased me saying, “Kesha is interested!”. Eh di wow! Hahaha We burst into laughter 😂
But I think he was really pleased because he asked the baby girl to get his snuff bottle and we did the Mongolian traditional greeting ritual that is normally done on formal occasion. We never had this ritual thing with the nomad family that accommodated us on our first night so it was a complete surprised for us. Watch the video below via IG.
But no wedding happened. 😂 We are all still single. And my heart still belongs to Taiwan. As of this writing 😊
Mongolian Snuff Bottle Ritual
The snuff bottle is one of the essential object carried by Mongolians, usually in the front pocket of their traditional outfit, wrapped in a fine silk bag.
Mongolians have a custom of sharing their snuff bottles as part of their greeting ritual which is called “Khoorog”. Passing a snuff bottle is a formal occasion. When a visitor arrives, the head of the household will take out their snuff bottle and pass it around to each of the guests, holding it in their right hand and extending it out to the guest as if to shake hands, left hand holding up the right elbow. The guest receives the bottle in the same manner, partially opens the top to take a pleasurable whiff of the snuff inside, removes the cap with a spoon attached, scooping out a small amount of snuff, sprinkles it on the side of their hand then snuffing it into the nose. The cap is then partially replaced, and returned to the host.
http://www.mongolianspirit.com/mongolian-culture/mongolian-customs-and-traditions
My sincerest gratitude to all the people I was with and I have met on this journey! You have shown me how wonderful, challenging, heartbreaking, thrilling, and fulfilling it is to travel. ❤️
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Wow all these experiences are so unique! I love all the stories! Also Taipei is awesome!!
aww thanks Nadia! <3
Sounds like an adventure! Look forward to visiting one day.
totally! thanks Laura 🙂
Crazy and fun!!! I remember my first international trip from Philippines is to Hongkong, Circa 1997. hahaha It was crazy and so fun:) COntinue your journey and safe travels. Cheers
aww <3 thanks a lot Buena!
WOW! You visited all these places that is so cool, especially the great wall of China. And HK really a go-to-go country for the first time traveller out of the country. I love all your photos!
Thanks a lot Farrah! 🙂
I would love to visit an Asian country one day! The culture is so unique, the architecture is amazing, and who doesnt love Panda bears! Thanks for sharing your experience!
awww thanks Heather! <3
wow you’ve done a lot of Asia! Pretty jealous about the pandas and mongolia- theres too many places in the world to visit! Keep up the great content.
Aww thank youuu ♥️♥️♥️
haha, that´s quite a story to tell “how I almost got married off to somebody´s son while traveling” 🙂 I totally want to go see Pandas now!!! well written – I am ready to pack my bags and go try it 🙂
Perfect title for my next article!!! Haha thank you sooo much Christin! ♥️♥️♥️ It means a lot! 😊
These sounds like some amazing experiences! I can’t wait to visit Asia. Japan and Hong Kong are on the top of my list right now.
You will looove japan and HK for sure!! ♥️ I’m excited for you 😍 and thanks 💕
What a nice post! You have sooo many cool Asian experiences.
It’s a shame you were not keen on the Ghibli museum. I never made it there (I am just so bad at planning in advance, so I was always too late to book it when I get to Tokyo! Oops!!)
I hope you get to meet up with your Taiwanese man at some point. ❤
Aww thanks Josypheen!!! I hope we meet again ♥️♥️♥️ haha 🤞
Wow the architecture is amazing there! Wow! Looks like you had a beautiful trip.
I did! Thaaanks ♥️
OMG!!! I can’t believe you saw a real Panda! Your trip looks like a dream, thanks for sharing those unforgettable moments!
Thaaanks Tania ♥️ these experiences are my greatest treasure ✨
I had fun reading this!! Those are crazy fun experience/adventures. I’m sure, someday you will look back and remember those moments and just laugh. 😉
Yeees! Haha you are right! And thaaanks for reading Carmen ♥️♥️♥️
I wish i could be so courageous like you in travelling.. I will be travelling solo to China this coming Holy Week of April 2019 and i dont know what to expect. Thank you for the glimpses of your travel life..
Hey Cecille! you are brave!! it won’t be easy if you don’t speak their language. that’s the most challenging part during our travel so it’s important to get a simcard and internet and vpn and also wechat (aside from money :D) . If you have them, i think you’ll be fine 🙂
I just read your reply. My solo travel in China was an adventure. I went there without full preparation. I arrived at NAIA just several minutes before closing of the gate because i had some reports to finish in the office, anxiously searched how to get myself connected in China while waiting for boarding call, was notified with the cancellation of my hotel booking a day before my check-in in another city, got blisters on my feet due to long hours of roaming around a park, was left by last trip of bus in Great Wall of China, etc. Though the trip was full of uncertainties, it was the most memorable one among all my trips abroad. I enjoyed my solo time. I found myself smiling while walking on the Great Wall of China and told myself ”I made it”. It was the first time that i felt that and now i look forward for more solo travels. China was far from what i hear. It is a beautiful country. I will visit China again. Thank you for your blogs. I helped me..
Glad to hear that Cecille! and it really is a beautiful country!! <3