22 March 2026 BACK TO SEOUL I took the KTX back to Seoul, and where did I go first? Seongsu, of course. My third time there on a nine-day trip. I think it’s safe to say I have a favourite neighbourhood! STRAWBERRY CAKE AT RAFRE FRUIT I wanted to give Rafre Fruit another try after seeing the queue on my previous visit and deciding against it. This time I went closer to opening. There was still a queue, but it was much more manageable. The café is known for its seasonal fruit d

Day 8 in Korea, and my last full day in Busan! I wanted to take things slowly and enjoy a little more of what I’d loved about the city: cute shops, cafés and the sea. The day turned out to involve quite a lot of sitting back and relaxing, with brunch at 6ongone, dessert overlooking the water at Coralani, and a visit to Spa Land before ending the evening with the Gwangalli drone show. MORNING STROLL AROUND GWANGALLI NEIGHBOURHOOD I started with a walk around the neighbourhood

A PERFECT MORNING I managed to wake up early enough to catch the sunrise, and wow. Even before the sun appeared, the sky looked like a painting, with soft colours stretching across the sea. Definitely worth waking up for. Before the sun appeared, the sky already looked like a painting. So glad I woke up for this. Then came the sun, casting a golden trail across the water beside Gwangan Bridge. Wow. Then I went back to sleep. It was still quite cold in the morning, so I decide

19 March 2026 Day 6 began just the way I wanted: waking up naturally, with no alarm and a beautiful view of Gwangalli Beach outside my window. Then it was time to head out for breakfast. I woke up to this. BRUNCH AT WORKING HOLIDAY I went to Working Holiday, a spacious brunch café overlooking the beach. Despite the many seats, every one seemed to be taken when I arrived! I waited around for a little while and eventually managed to get a window seat. What a lovely start. Order

18 March 2026 KTX HIGH-SPEED TRAIN TO BUSAN Time for Busan! On Day 5, I took the KTX high-speed train from Seoul to Busan. I’d booked my ticket there in advance, but kept putting off booking the return journey. When I finally checked, every departure I looked at was sold out except for one timing! I was so shocked that I booked it straight away. Please learn from my procrastination and sort out both journeys once your plans are firm, especially if you need to return at a part

17 March 2026 Day 4 turned into quite a café-hopping day, with stops for pretty pastries, hanok views and a very cute coffee. In between, I wandered through Bukchon and Eunpyeong Hanok Village before heading to Yeonnam-dong and Hongdae for a little shopping. Plenty of walking, but always another café break to look forward to! BUKCHON HANOK VILLAGE First stop was Bukchon Hanok Village, although I might have taken my “rest and relax” motto a little too seriously. By the time I

16 March 2026 You won’t believe where I went in my third day in Korea. Back to Seongsu! Even after spending most of the previous day there, I hadn’t finished exploring. I liked the neighbourhood so much that returning for another round was an easy decision. STREET SNACK AT EOMUK NARA First, breakfast at Eomuk Nara, a snack stall at Seongsu Station. There were so many people gathered around eating that I had to try it too! I ordered tteokbokki and skewered fish cakes, which ma

15 March 2026 Day 2 began exactly as a relaxing holiday should: with a lie-in that turned breakfast into lunch. My only real plan afterwards was to explore Seongsu, browse a few shops and stop for something cute to eat. Little did I know that “a few shops” would keep me occupied for the rest of the day! BREAKFAST AT JOJO KALGUKSU CITY HALL BRANCH The motto for this Korea trip was to chill and relax, and I clearly took that seriously. I woke up so late that breakfast became lu

Even before my Korea trip, I had already saved so many pretty cafés I wanted to visit! From beautifully decorated spaces to desserts that looked almost too cute to eat, I kept finding reasons to stop for another café break. I thought I’d put together a little collection of the cafés I visited, the things we ordered and the photos I took along the way. If you enjoy a pretty café as much as I do, you might find a few to add to your list! SEONGSU DALIM BREAD The little bear brea

07 September 2026 LAST DAY IN CHONGQING Since it was my last day in Chongqing, we were determined to make the most of it. We started with a cave descent at Tianyan Cave, then spent the rest of the day fitting in photos, food, café breaks and a few of Chongqing’s famous sights. With Hongyadong’s evening lights on our list, we had plenty of time to explore before nightfall, and somehow filled every bit of it! TIANYAN CAVE (天眼洞) For our final day in Chongqing, we met up with our

07 September 2026 Day 5 was one of our most eventful days in Chongqing, beginning with a palace-themed lunch at Qingyuyan (庆渝宴) and ending with a night out at ESMI. In between, we explored the beautiful streets of Longmenhao (龙门浩) and Xiahaoli (下浩里) and stopped for drinks along Nanbin Road (南滨路). Some parts were very much my kind of activity, while others were experiences I probably wouldn’t have tried on my own. Travelling with friends certainly added a little variety to my

07 September 2026 WULONG (武隆) For our fourth day in Chongqing, we booked the same private driver who had brought us to Dazu the day before. This time, we headed to Wulong (武隆) to explore the Three Natural Bridges (天生三桥) and Longshuixia Fissure Gorge (龙水峡地缝). We also arranged for a photographer to accompany us for the day — a service known as 陪拍. One of my friends really enjoys photoshoots, so we decided to give it a go together! Personally, I prefer spending more time admirin

5 September 2026 Day 2 started with just the two of us, before our third friend joined us later in the day. We had pandas, souvenir shopping, hotpot and a beautiful temple on the itinerary, followed by a café break overlooking its tiled roofs. To end the evening, we headed uphill for barbecue with sunset views and live music. Quite a full day ahead! CHONGQING ZOO (重庆动物园) I started Day 2 with a visit to Chongqing Zoo (重庆动物园), together with the first friend I met up with on Day

4 September 2026 This trip to Chongqing was a little different from my usual solo travels — I was travelling with two friends! We were all arriving at different time though, so I had the first day to explore on my own before our group of three was complete. BAIXIANGJU (白象居) My first stop was Baixiangju (白象居), known for its unusual hillside layout and views of the Yangtze River Cableway (长江索道). It is a very Chongqing sort of place: exits on the 1st, 10th and 15th floors lead o

12 September 2025 It was my last day in Ningxia before flying back to Shanghai. We had two more places to visit: China Western Film Studios (镇北堡西部影城) and Shuidonggou (水洞沟). CHINA WESTERN FILM STUDIOS (镇北堡西部影城) One last day in Ningxia, starting at China Western Film Studios (镇北堡西部影城). The film studio has been used for several famous Chinese movies, including A Chinese Odyssey《大话西游》, Red Sorghum《红高粱》, Ashes of Time《东邪西毒》and New Dragon Gate Inn《新龙门客栈》. It was quite cool to walk

11 September 2025 FIVE LAKES CROSSING (五湖穿越), TENGGER DESERT Today took me beyond Ningxia’s borders and into Alxa Left Banner of Inner Mongolia. This was the part of the trip I had been looking forward to the most. Ever since I saw photos of the Wulan Lake (乌兰湖) on a Chinese reality TV show, the Five lakes Crossing has been quite at the top of my travel bucket list. Today, that anticipation finally turned into reality. I crossed into Alxa Left Banner, heading towards the Five

10 September 2025 WESTERN XIA MAUSOLEUMS (西夏王陵) My first stop was the Western Xia Mausoleums (西夏王陵). The Western Xia Mausoleums, also known as the Tombs of the Tangut Kings, are located about 35 kilometres west of Yinchuan, at the foot of the Helan Mountains (贺兰山). They are the royal burial grounds of the Western Xia Dynasty (西夏王朝), a kingdom founded by the Tangut people (党项族) in the 11th century. It is recently inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025, making it not

09 September 2025 MORNING AT STAR HOTEL (沙漠星星酒店) I set my alarm early because I really wanted to catch the sunrise. When I stepped out of my room, I was greeted by this huge, round, orange sun hanging low over the desert. It looked exactly like a salted egg yolk glowing in the sky. I felt so exhilarated just looking at it. The desert sunrise. The sun was glowing like a salted egg yolk. It was absolutely worth waking up for. Without even thinking, I ran up the sand dune in fro

08 September 2025 I begin my morning with breakfast at EVEN hotel. Here are some photos of the breakfast spread as well as what I ate. JOURNEY TO ZHONGWEI (中卫) Today I travelled from Yinchuan to Zhongwei. It is a few hours’ drive, but I was feeling excited as that brought me closer to the desert, and it was actually my first time being to one. To make travelling easier, I booked a tour on Ctrip (携程), thinking it would be a small group. It turned out to be a private tour — jus

07 September 2025 A little random, but I would like to share this beautiful sunrise at Shanghai Pudong Airport before my flight. What a...