Asia
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A Singapore Semester 1 Summary…
By Micha Raja, Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore As Semester 1 draws to a close, I find myself full of several emotions – gratitude, excitement and disbelief at how quickly the past 3 months have flown by. I arrived in Singapore 3 months ago, completely alone with not a clue how the year was going to play out. I was nervous arriving, not sure if I would make friends, settle in well or enjoy the new academic culture I was about to take on. Everything felt so unfamiliar and I remember wondering how long it would take before Singapore started to feel like home. Now I am writing this blog feeling like a completely…
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17 hours from London to Osaka: A guide to survive
By Gloria Zheng, Osaka University, Japan It has been over a month since I arrived in Japan, so I figured it was time to sit down and write about my experience travelling alone for the first time. I flew from Heathrow Airport in London to Kansai International Airport in Japan (if you’re studying in the Kansai region you’ll most likely be flying here). 1. Book everything in advance I booked my flight the same day I received my visa from the Japanese Embassy in London. This meant that I could get the best savings as as prices steeply rise the weeks following the date you’re planning to fly. I also…
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3 nights in Linhai, Zhejiang
By Eva Tollett, Fudan University Shanghai, China Travelling around China is unlike any travelling I’ve done before. With the exception of the big cities or rural tourist hotspots, there is little to read about the smaller cities. The past week was Mid-Autumn festival granting us with 8 days of holiday. (Don’t worry, China never slacks off so this was supplemented by having classes on the weekends both before and after.) The internal tourist industry in China is booming. Hotels and flights triple in price during this period and are booked as soon as they become available. Having initially wanted to visit Huangshan (the famous yellow mountains), we soon went off…
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3 weeks in Thailand on the way home from Hong Kong
After finishing up my time studying in Hong Kong, I thought I would make the most of being in south east Asia and cheap flights, so met up with a friend and spent three wonderful weeks exploring the south of Thailand. I would have loved to have done the north, but didn’t have enough time and decided it would be better to spend more time in each place to properly see it then rushing around just to tick off the whole if Thailand. Phuket: I spent 2 nights in Phuket as this is where I flew into. Phuket was probably my least favorite place in Thailand, I stayed in Patong…
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No Guidebook for This: Diaries of a Black (African) Female Solo Traveler
By Zahra Sachikonye, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Decolonizing Solo Travel: Why Representation Matters When I would research different destinations to travel, almost all the blogs and travel guides I read were from a very similar perspective. These articles were written by mostly white, mostly Western points of view. Their advice, whilst useful, was only relatable to a point. When thinking about safety, I had the added task of researching the levels of racism in a place, something most people have never even thought of doing. As someone with an African passport, I had to apply for visas for countries most of my friends could just walk into. This…
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My First Week in Singapore…
By Micha Raja, Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore My first week in Singapore was crazy, jam-packed, and exciting. I felt so busy everyday even though Uni hadn’t started yet. The first couple of days, I spent settling in, buying house necessities with my flatmates and doing that first big grocery shop. This was really exciting though as it allowed me to explore the area and find out the cheapest stores to shop at. I landed a couple of days before Singapore National Day. As it was their 60th anniversary this year, the celebrations were very big! We headed to Marina Bay Sands and watched the jet show and the fireworks…
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No Plans, Just Presence: Let Go of the Itinerary
By Zahra Sachikonye, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong ‘What’s on your bucket list for Hong Kong?’ Nothing. ‘Any must-see spots?’ No. I’ve finished my year abroad and I still don’t have a list (Please don’t click off the article yet, I’m not crazy). When I landed in Hong Kong, I had no idea what I was walking into, and that might’ve been the best thing I did for myself and for the places I visited.
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An Indoor Climate Crisis: Lessons in Cross-Cultural Understanding
By Zahra Sachikonye, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong I won the roommate lottery. From the day we met, my roommate remains one of the kindest and most brilliant people I’ve known. I remember the moment I met her and how grateful I felt to have her company and share a space with her. Here I was, halfway across the world about to share a room with a stranger for the next 9 months.
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To Hong Kong, With All My Heart: For the Friends
By Zahra Sachikonye, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong ‘You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place’ (Miriam Adeney)
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Dealing with Political Unrest While Abroad
By Malaikha West, Seoul National University, South Korea Martial Law. Political Rallies. Presidential Impeachment. You never think it will happen around you.Until it does. It was 22:27 on the 12th of December when President Yoon declared Martial Law over South Korea. I was in bed doom-scrolling (as you do) when I got a notification about being under Martial Law. Martial Law? As in the same Martial Law that I have learned about in my studies? Surely not. Initially, I thought it was a spam notification, until two minutes later I received the same notification through the AIG Travel Alerts on my email. I sat up and looked over at my…
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Best Food Spots Near PolyU Halls
By Anna Belsham, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong One of the biggest adjustments when moving to Hong Kong was having to eat out for most meals. In Hong Kong the groceries are super expensive and at PolyU halls there are limited kitchen facilities, so it works out cheaper to eat out for most meals. There are 1000s of restaurants in Hong Kong and it can be overwhelming, after living in halls for a year I found some great nearby places to eat that are not too expensive. Here are a list of my favorites:
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It Was Not Supposed To Be This Good: My Trip to the Philippines
By Zahra Sachikonye, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong When I booked my trip to the Philippines, I thought I might meet some people to have dinner with one night but expected to be alone most of the time. I even brought a novel and colouring book, thinking I’d spend my time alone on the beach, reflecting and maybe journalling. I was not expecting to find myself in the presence of strangers and come back feeling like a piece of my heart had been left behind. What was meant to be a short solo getaway became one of the most joyful and memorable trips I’ve ever taken. I flew from…
