China and South Korea (Updated w/ Pics)

The trip started out slow with a five hour flight delay in Houston so we missed our connection in in San Francisco to Seoul. Not a bad place for a layover.


First stop was Seoul. Bukchon Hanok village was beautiful. This is the oldest neighborhood in the city where you will find houses where nobility used to live during the Joseon dynasty in the 1600s - 1800s.


Changdeokgung Palace. One of the seven palaces of the Joseon dynasty.



All of the food in Seoul is incredible. One of the best food cities.




From Seoul, we took a flight to Guilin, China; stayed there for one night then our driver met us and took us to Yangshuo. Yangshuo and the Karst mountains were definitely the highlight.









picture of the actual Li river and the Li river on the 20 Yuan bill


The famous cormorant fisherman as seen in natgeo


view from our hotel


Next stop on the trip was the Yunnan province in the southwest corner of China. Lots of old towns and moutains

Dali Old town


















Pagodas from the Tang Dynasty. 1200 years old.


From Dali, our driver took us to Tiger Leaping gorge where we trekked for two days. They call it tiger leaping gorge because apparently a tiger jumped across the gorge at its narrowest point (33 yards).






From tiger leaping gorge, we were driven to Shangri La in Tibet. Really cool little mountain town.

The monastery built by the fifth Dalai Lama in the 1600s



First time seeing a yak. Their meat and milk were also yummy.


Their local brew, Shangri La beer, is the best I've had in Asia. Most Asian countries produce a lager or pilsner that isn't that great.


Tibetan line dancing, a daily ritual.


From Shangri La, we drove four hours south to the beautiful old town of Lijiang
On the way, our driver got a flat. Very dangerous being on the side of the road. Chinese drivers have little regard for human safety


Lijiang old town










I was lucky enough to see the jade dragon snow mountain on a clear day. It's usually covered in clouds.


From Lijiang we flew to Xian. In Xian, the biggest attraction is the terracotta warriors, but the old city is really cool. The ming dynasty built a lot of incredible things like the city walls, the drum tower, and the bell tower. The muslim quarter has great street food. At least a mile of nothing but street food vendors.





Mutton in a special sauce on an arepa-like bread


Mutton soup dumplings. Best dumplings I've ever eaten.



The Xian bell tower


The terracotta warriors. They were created by the first Chinese emperor Qin Shu Huang to accompany him into the afterlife. They still have not excavated his tomb which is still under a giant man made mound 2 km away. Supposedly there is a giant repilica map of the Chinese empire above the tomb with rivers of mercury. There also is supposedly crossbow booby traps still in place from 350 BC.




From Xian, we took a night Train to Beijing where we would fly back out to San Francisco. Beijing was excellent for history, but the smog was so bad you had zero chance of seeing the blue sky or sun. In fact, the air pollution is so bad that it floats over to South Korea and blocks their sunlight.

Tiananman square


The emperor's throne inside the forbidden city. The forbidden city was massive and impressive but most of the buildings looked the same. The Boxers and eventually the Japanese then communists looted most of it.


In Beijing, you have to try the Peking duck. I went to DaDong which is the best Peking duck in China. Most delicious bird I've ever eaten.


and finally the great wall. It did not disappoint.