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Tag: Architecture

Holy Crap… I’m in Gyeongju!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Gyeongju!!!

Only two buses after leaving Juwangsan National Park and I’m now back in a big city, Gyeongju. Before the Josean dynasty, Korea was in what was known as the three kingdoms period because the peninsula was divided between (any guesses?) three kingdoms, the Baekje, Silla and Goguryeo. The Silla was founded in 57BCE when six small towns decided to unite under one king and started violently taking over other towns until the kingdom spanned the entire southeastern part of the…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Gyeongsangbuk Province!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Gyeongsangbuk Province!!!

After leaving Seoul I began a rapid fire visitation of three major sites in beautiful, mountainous Gyeongsangbuk Province, so I’m devoting a whole post to the lot as I was moving too quickly to post at every stop. That and there was no wifi at any of these remote stops. Holy Crap… I’m at Jikji-sa Temple!!! I left Seoul on an 8am train to the town of Gimcheon. Easy. From there I was able to sort through the Korean signs…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Seoul!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Seoul!!!

Greetings from the Land of the Morning Calm! That’s right, I am officially a Seoul man (couldn’t resist) and my Korean adventure has begun. Seoul has been the capitol of this peninsula for pretty much it’s entire history going all the way back to about 4000BCE. Several dynasties followed over it’s history, the most influential being the Josean dynasty from 1392 until about 1910. They’ve been conquered by Mongolia, China, Japan twice, there was a very famous modern war that…

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Paro, Bhutan, September 2012

Paro, Bhutan, September 2012

Greetings again from the land of the thunder dragon! We made the looooong drive west from Wangdue Phodrang into Paro where the airport is. This is where they take you last in Bhutan so they can get rid of you quick. Haha! My hotel is even right next to the runway of the tiny airport. Anyway, Paro is a cool little town. It’s basically just two or three streets and the airport. It is home to the Paro Dzong (fort)…

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Punakha Valley, Bhutan, September 2012

Punakha Valley, Bhutan, September 2012

From Thimphu, we drive through the beautiful Dochu La pass to the Punakha Valley. It seems that not too long ago, Bhutan took in hundreds of refugees from nearby Assam in India. When India demanded they be deported back, Bhutan reluctantly complied, but regretted it. Now Dochu La pass is covered in hundreds of small stupas that they built as a self imposed penance. It’s a really beautiful, if not somber place. After the pass we arrive at my hotel…

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Thimphu, Bhutan, September 2012

Thimphu, Bhutan, September 2012

I first arrive in Paro, Bhutan, on the only airline allowed to fly into the country, Drukair, into what is not only the only airport in the country, but also considered one of the most dangerous airports in the entire world. The approach involves an almost 90º turn during the descent between the mountains as well as several turns through the narrow valley to the runway. Experiencing it wasn’t nearly as frightening as it sounds, but I imagine it can…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Tigray!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Tigray!!!

Tigray is a region of northern Ethiopia rather than a specific location and just happens to be the last area I’m exploring on this trip. So why explore this region aside from the vast and stunning mountainous landscape? Tigray is famous for its rock hewn churches, most of which are anywhere from 500 to 1500 years old. Ethiopians liked to build their churches in caves or carve them high up the mountains right out of the rock in order to…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Aksum!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Aksum!!!

Every trip seems to have one section that doesn’t quite go according to plan, and I think this section is it. After my Simien Mountains tour I was supposed to go straight to Aksum, but was told instead that I would have to spend the night in Debark and go to Aksum in the morning. Morning came and my ride didn’t show up. I then spent the whole morning trying to arrange a ride in a town with no local…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Gondar!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Gondar!!!

After an extremely short flight over some beautiful terrain and Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest lake, I’m now in another former capitol of Ethiopia, Gondar. The rule here started with emperor Fasilidas in the 1630’s after a couple of centuries of great instability. The empire was ruled by him, then his son followed by his grandson and remained stable until about 1730. After that every emperor that took the throne found himself murdered under suspicious circumstances and the empire slowly disintegrated….

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Holy Crap… I’m in Lalibela!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Lalibela!!!

From the chaos of Addis Ababa straight to what is arguably the most popular tourist destination in all of Ethiopia, Lalibela. The town sits at almost 7800ft above sea level and the green hills and mountains all around are just stunning! You need to be in shape to be here because every street and walkway is on a definite tilt. Most of the history of Lalibela is steeped in mystery. It apparently rose to prominence with the Zagwe empire when…

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