Sri Lanka: Moped Adventures

Continuation of my adventures on my "around the world trip." If you would like to read from the beginning, here are the links:

Around The World Trip: The Idea
Booking the 'Round the World" trip
Korea: Day 1
Korea: Things to Check out in Itaewon
Taiwan: Food, Fun, and Friends
Kuala Lumpur: Food Never Stops
Sri Lanka: Scared for my Life
Sri Lanka: Great Tuk Tuk Scam Part 2?

My moped adventure epitomized the benefits of traveling alone. I did what I wanted, when I wanted with no real destination and no one to compromise with.

Sri Lanka: The Great Tuk Tuk Scam Number 2?

With my previous 3 destinations being full of food and adult beverages, I decided to give either my stomach or my liver a much needed break. (If I deprived myself of both, what fun would there be?) Luckily, Sri Lanka was my next stop, which I planned as my relaxing beach destination.

Some beach shots I took:

Beach side dining

Back of my hotel

Even though a random man asking me to marry a girl from his village did make the beach interesting, I realized that I had as much enjoyment as I could with the beach after relaxing there for an hour by myself. I decided to explore the area for the next two days.

Korea: Things to check out in Itaewon

I was staying with a friend who lived in a district in Seoul called Itaewon. Itaewon was once  known as a shady district but has recently been revamped and now known more as the foreigners district. When I first heard that Itaewon was the foreigners district, I was not too excited. I imagined foreigner districts like Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong; where there was dirty bar after dirty bar and streets full of westerners being ridiculously drunk (yes, I might have been one of them).

Instead I was greeted by tasteful bars such as "Mixtures" which had a lounge atmosphere and a DJ spinning hip hop beats, and Magpie brewery which usually has a few taps of their own brews plus some imports like Rogue from my hometown. The crowd definitely seemed like more foreigners, but there was a good mix of locals as well. Overall I would almost equate what I saw of Itaewon similar to a Pearl District in Portland or Culver City in Los Angeles. Not super ritzy, but nice and up and coming. Read on for the meals/spots I felt were worth mentioning.

Kuala Lumpur: Food never stops

Arriving into Kuala Lumpur, I made my way down to the KLIA express, a train that takes you from the airport to KL Sentral for about 15 usd and takes 50 minutes. KL sentral serves a similar purpose as Taipei main station, connecting metro, high speed rail, buses and taxi, except it does a horrible job at it.

There are about 4-5 different lines owned by different companies, and transferring between them is difficult. For instance, the monorail line is shown to be at KL sentral. But in reality, it is about a 20 min walk away. The signage is not helpful either; they stopped appearing once I left the station, and I still had probably 10 min walk left. Thank God for Google maps!

(Pro tip: While you have internet access before your trip, bring up Google maps and look at the area where you will be visiting at full zoom. This will save to your phone, and when you arrive.with no internet connection you can still use the map with GPS. This saved my ass multiple times.)

Read more:

Taiwan: Food, Fun, and Friends!

Arriving into Taipei, I was able to easily follow signs to the bus that takes me from TPE to Taipei main station (1 hour ride and about $5 USD). Taipei main station is just like what it sounds like, you can access the metro, the high-speed rail, or buses. I met up with my friend who I was staying with, and we started our four day adventure of eating, drinking, and site seeing.

My other friend, who I met there, wrote a blog on 100 things to do in 14 days in Taipei. My activities were mostly with her, so it seems repetitive if I write about it twice (ok I might just be lazy).

But here are some of my favorite things!

Korea Day 1: Meeting Random People, Weather, The Blank Stare, and Tours

Meeting New Friends:

Arriving late in the evening in Korea, I decided against trying to learn a new rail system only to get lost, and booked an inexpensive airport hotel instead. After claiming my bag I headed to an information booth to request the hotel shuttle. My shuttle driver came to pick me and another young guy up, and as we loaded our bags, I sized him up and I randomly concluded that he spoke English, so I said hi. Victory! Turns out he was from Boston and also traveling solo after graduating. "New friend #1 acquired!" (insert Zelda item acquired sound here). I learned that  making new friends could be as easy as just saying "hi".

Not horrible for a cheap over nighter

I hope there is not a fire....