Ella – quick travel guide

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Sri Lanka’s touristy mountain town. Lots of mountain views, nature hikes, waterfalls and caves, and the Nine Arch Bridge. Oh and good food!

It’s a mountain jungle place where accommodations have you staying right in nature. See birds, monkeys, and green all around you as you wake up to nature everyday. Take little hikes and enjoy picturesque mountain viewpoints all around you. The food is also the best we had up to this point, especially since coming from the south of Sri Lanka (which really didn’t have great food).

2 days is enough to see all the main points. Stay longer to relax more, eat good food, or give yourself more time with nature.

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Athens – quick travel guide

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Big city metropolis of Greece. Full of historic sights and chaotic crowded city centers.

Even though Athens population is only 4 million compared to much bigger Roman cities (like Rome), it’s very densely populated. While you won’t find the stereotype Greek beach destinations here, you’ll definitely find a cool hip metropolis full of great food, hip bars, nightlife, shopping, and endless choices of apartment buildings with city skyline views. In short…a very authentic urban Greek city life experience.

Athens is a love it or hate it. Comes for 2-3 days to check out the historic sites and museums and eat well, then leave. Or if the busy city life attached instantly to you…well then, you can sit out here for months!

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Tangalle – quick travel guide

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Relaxed beach town with beachside restaurants and remove beaches for a more local atmosphere. It’s still has touristy things like restaurants and bars, but not overly commercial with endless shops.

Tangalle can be a nice 2-day stop to relax and enjoy the long peaceful beachfronts. Or a 6-day stay to fully relax and also take tours to nearby national parks (Udalaware & Yala) to see wildlife, and Africa-like landscapes. We stayed here six days and loved it, but if you’re looking for things to do…then you should continue on to Ella.

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Sri Lanka – quick travel guide

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Island country off India’s southern coast, and very similar to in culture and geography to south India.

Known as one of the cheapest and most convenient travel destinations. Because it’s a small country, easy to get around (since everything all in one island), very inexpensive. Lots of transportation…cheap trains and buses, taxis are cheap enough for foreigners to take 2-hr rides. The locals are friendly and many speak enough English. Internet is good enough. Everywhere feels very safe and accessible.

As a foreigner, you’ll find Sri Lanka to be very undeveloped and wild. Wild beaches, train-tracks running all over the country (past beaches, through jungles, around mountains), people walking on train tracks, people hanging out of train cars, very local vibe in many places and not overly touristy as other countries. Nature everywhere and you feel like you’re living in it (whether for good or for worse), rather than looking at it.

The default VISA period is one month and that’s a good amount of time to comprehensively immerse yourself on the Sri Lankan island. If you need to extend, you can do it easily enough online or through the tourist office.

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Unawatuna – quick travel guide

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Classic local favorite beach town with many beachside restaurants along the road. Not really a city.

Unawatuna is a local favorite spot for many and it’s easy to see why. Beautiful beaches with a chill vibe, not crowded, great sunset views, and cheap accommodation easily found right next to the beach.

Although you could stay several days, there’s probably very little to do other than sit on the beach and you may get bored. We did just a 1-day stop through here.

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Galle – quick travel guide

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Skippable local beach city with a touristy “Dutch Fort”, close to better spots in south Sri Lanka.

This city isn’t a worthy tourist destination. No beautiful beaches, mostly all local areas and local food (good if you want cheap food). It’s for passing by when you’re going between other southern coastal cities in Sri Lanka.

The only thing here is to check out the Dutch Fort, take pictures around the walls. And maybe buy or pickup things that can only be found in a bigger city. There are much more markets here and options to choose from. A friend went here to find bigger repair shops for his broken mobile phone.

A 2-hour pitstop is more than enough for me.

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Hikkaduwa – quick travel guide

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Nice beach town known for having corals and turtles, and many Russians. And OK for surfing.

It’s a small beach town with a nice relaxed vibe without being pretentious. Plenty of water activities to do around here, and close to other towns for other excursions and activities. You can stay here a couple days or a couple weeks.

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Tokyo – quick travel guide

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Hyper-stimulated and mega-dense, iconic capital city of Japan and Japanese pop culture.

Tokyo is perhaps the most known and recognized city in Asia by westerners. The other most recognized Asian countries (by westerners) are probably China and Korea. But what are their capital cities? Fewer people know the answers to that. It helps Tokyo is easy to spell and remember. Also that Japanese culture is also more familiar and previously introduced in Western media and other subcultures.

We know Tokyo is one of the biggest and most populated cities in the world. But what do you see when you actually get there?

A proper visit to Toyko should be 5-7 days. There are many areas to wander, tourist attractions, museums, parks, gardens, and activities to do.

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Japan – quick travel guide

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Ultra-dense, ultra-modern technology yet traditional culture, super fun and safe country of polite perfectionist people.

Japanese is one of the most “known” and recognized Asian cultures by westerners. The other most “known” Asian cultures (by westerners) are probably China and Korea. It helps a lot that Japanese culture has been previously introduced in Western media and other subcultures. And that many westerners have tried Japanese foods. And so many people have heard many things about Japan already.

But what do you realize when you actually get there?

  1. That Japan is everything you thought it would be. Just like how Italy is very Italian. Japan is very Japanese. It’s very much a caricature of itself (in a good way).
  2. That Japan is even more than what you thought it would be. Many people think because they ate heard Jpop music, seen it in movies, and ate sushi, ramen, curry, teppan grill, etc…that they are familiar with Japan. But no! Just like how Mexico is more than just tacos, beaches, and mariachi music…Japan is so much more than how western pop culture portrays it.
  3. Japan is a comfortable blend of exotic yet familiar, modern yet traditional, fun yet safe place to travel. Foods are not too crazy. And things function more or less in a familiar western way. The people here are polite and helpful, and speak enough English to make even first time travelers feel comfortable.
  4. Very easy to get around in Japan. Lots of public transportation. The language although is not similar to English or other Western languages, can be pronounced easier than other Asian languages (since Japanese isn’t a tonal language), and is also written in legible latin characters.
  5. I highly recommend Japan for first-time travelers wanting a new

2 weeks is a good amount of time to pass through the main 3 destinations in Japan…Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. With maybe a day trip out to nearby destinations here and there.

  • 3 weeks would allow a much fuller image if you’re already enjoying what you see.
  • And a month would be great if you really want to experience the far ends (northeast and southwest).

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Don’t buy the JAPAN RAIL PASS

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The JR Pass most likely WON’T save you MONEY or TIME.

  • Visiting for 10 days or fewer, or 5 cities or fewer?
  • Using the bullet train only a fewer times?
  • Most staying in places longer than just 3 days at a time?

Then you’ll probably save money and time by NOT buying the pass. I mean it! Please do not be fooled by endless blogs and affiliate links encouraging you to buy the pass. It is not the safe option!

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Stockholm – quick travel guide

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Swedish capital city sprawling across 14 islands, with many different vibes.

Surrounded by water and spread across multiple islands, Stockholm is also called “the Venice of the north” or “the Venice of Sweden”. Somewhat similar to Amsterdam (the other “Venice of the north) but whereas Amsterdam is much more compact and dense and with much narrower weblike waterways, Stockholm feels like larger islands with larger bodies of water between them. Stockholm is also cheaper than other Nordic country capital cities.

3 days would be enough to enjoy the main sights. Visiting different islands to check out squares, restaurants, museums, and city views across the water. Also experience varying lifestyles between the busier islands and the quieter ones. Enjoying some nature and landscape. See some interesting architecture in the buildings and metros, perhaps take a boat ride.

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Busan – quick travel guide

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2nd biggest South Korean city with beaches and vibrant neighborhoods.

I don’t know why I thought Busan would be a small town but nope, it’s a big enough city of 3 million people. Has many many things to do and also carries a different vibe from Seoul. Although most people put only 2-3 days here, it’s easily a week’s worth of activities if not more. Touristically, it is NOT smaller than Seoul.

Seoul vs Busan ultimately comes down to what you prefer….bigger city with more nightlife (vibrant every night) vs coastal city with beaches. I would also add that Seoul has bigger historic sites (palaces & temples) and is colder (therefore more winter sports). And Busan feels less touristy than Seoul, less extreme weather (no freezing winters), better seafood, and friendlier people. I won’t say which is better. Both are worth visiting, but I’d ultimately stay longer in Seoul.

3 days to get a taste, 5-7 is more ideal to feel the vibe. Busan is bigger than you think and with more activities than you think.

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Sokcho – quick travel guide

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Small beach city 3 hours drive northeast of Seoul.

Small city with a handful of tourist things to do and a see. At the very least, it’s a nice beach break from the usual city bustle of Seoul.

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Taiwan – quick travel guide

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A self-governing island country that was formerly a province of China.

Taiwan is full of nice food, nice people, nice vibes. Without having been to China, I couldn’t help but see Taiwanese people as a generally more cultured and more friendly version of Chinese people. While they might Taiwanese and Chinese may be culturally and geographically similar, they most definitely see themselves as different and do have enough distinctions between each other.

As an American, I would also say that Taiwanese have a less favorable attitude towards mainland China and more favorable attitude towards America. (That’s for when comparing attitudes between Taiwanese and Chinese people.)

main cities & days to spend

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Taipei – quick travel guide

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Taiwan’s capital city, full of food and city sights to see.

I wasn’t here for long and didn’t see much of any touristy things. I simply hung out with locals, went where they went and ate where they ate.

Great city that deserves a solid 5-7 days to explore.

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Dubai – quick travel guide

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Superficial fancy flashy city of 90% foreigners with ultra-modern architecture, luxury lifestyle, and lively nightlife.

As an American from Los Angeles, Dubai has never appealed to me. If anything the thought of superficial glam and surface-level glam has grossed me out. We already have superficial rich people in LA. We already have a luxury city of hotels and pretty commercial areas in a desert…it’s called Las Vegas.

“No thanks!” – was my immediate response.

But I couldn’t notice that I did have a handful of interesting friends who lived in Dubai. Ones that kept inviting me to stay at their place in Dubai. Since they were traveling often (as many people who live in Dubai are) and didn’t mind sharing their vacant apartment.

Once I finally arrived, I realized a few extra things:

  • Dubai definitely has a class system with many layers. All kinds of rich, middle, and poor (or service workers). And many people from many places (Europe and Asia mostly). And with seemingly, good social mobility.
  • Just about everybody speaks English.
  • The city has actually over-delivered upon its image for many people. I hear many stories of people who moved here for work, thinking they wouldn’t like it but ended up liking it. The standard of living is high (great infrastructure, very safe, cost is low considering the luxury life you have), and they liked meeting and having nice connections with people from all around the world.
  • Dubai is also a conveniently-located central point to Europe, Asia, Africa.

Most locals would say Dubai is not so big. That you can see most tourist-things within 3 days. But others may suggest 5 days to really enjoy the lifestyle and check out the nice restaurants, arts, and nightlife.

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Canada – quick travel guide

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Huge country somewhat similar to America (with English-speaking and lots of nature)…but friendlier people, cheaper costs, many things to do, French culture on the east coast, and its own unique vibe!

Canada may not seem high on your tourism list, and many see it as America’s less cool little brother…it does have several places worth visiting and offers its own cool vibe. A highly desirable country to live and visit. I did both…visiting there as a tourist but also living there for 3 months.

What stands out to me about Canada is that it seems very similar to America. But with friendlier people, slight differences on their English (on the east coast), much colder winters, and the French province of Quebec. The French part alone is super cool. If you’re in America, Montreal will feel like a super fast trip to Europe. Also Canada’s main sport is hockey, unlike America with football and basketball. Sports is a big thing in North America and seems like the only culture those countries have (hahaha)…since they aren’t old enough to have their own culture, and also since those countries were taken from the original native Americans (indigenous people) who actually came from there.

You can do a short tour on the east coast covering 2 nearby powerhouses, Montreal and Toronto within 1 week. Can add 1-2 extra days for Quebec City (which is more than just “tiny Montreal”). And another 3-4 days for Vancouver if you want to venture into the west coast. Then add more days to that if you want to visit national parks and nature stuff.

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Bukhara – quick travel guide

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Small city with a nice vibrant old town, many small streets and alleyways. Also more history here than in Samarkand. Feels like the Uzbekistan version of Istanbul.

Bukhara is a great place to be. Feels more local and authentic than Samarkand, also more history than Samarkand. The main open spaces are packed tighter together and feel much less commercial than in Samarkand. Everything is closer together and much more walkable, you won’t even need a Yandex. So definitely, Bukhara will feel more fun. And also, it’s cheaper here.

2-3 days is a good amount to enjoy.

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Tashkent – quick travel guide

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Main capital and boring “big city” of Uzbekistan. Usually a stopping point for the more touristy cities like Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva.

Despite it being a big city, Tashkent is still quite cheap by western standards. Go here to rest or if you need big city comforts. It’s not packed with all the touristy things and culture like the other Silk Road cities (Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva) but it’s the best one if you had to live or stay longer in Uzbekistan.

2 days is probably too long and should be spent elsewhere as much as you can. That’s what most people would say. Because there’s very little tourist-wise in Tashkent.

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Uzbekistan – quick travel guide

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Conservative but friendly country of the historic Silk Road, with lots of desert and big picturesque mosques.

One of the 4 “Turkic” STANS…Kazahkstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. I’d say Uzbekistan is the best known tourist destinations. Due to its picturesque colorful mosques. Its conservative culture makes it not as big city fun as Kazahkstan (not much of nightlife or fancy things), not as small town charmy as Kyrgyzstan. And though it isn’t worth staying a long time but it’s very much worth seeing.

Each major city and town on the historic Silk Road can be seen within 2 days (3 if you want to spend time inside each site and museum). And since there’s 4 major towns…Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. You can see all major sites within 8 to 12 days. And best of all, Uzbekistan is very cheap.

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