Category: Daily Notes

- TRAVEL DIARY7 CaucasusDaily NotesGeorgia

Balcony in Batumi @ Batumi, Georgia, January 11, 2020

For the past 5 weeks, I lived in a rented flat in Batumi, Georgia. The goal was to prepare written proposals and applications for some programs that I consider as my potential next step after travels. The lifestyle was almost completely sedentary and non-social, which made a clear contrast with the one I was having before. In this comfortable modern ‘cave’, my best friend was the balcony. It let me feel the fresh air and helped me keep things in perspective, both physically and figuratively. I...
- TRAVEL DIARY7 CaucasusArmeniaDaily NotesWhat I Had Today (Food)

Khurjin, Tolma, and pomegranate tea @ Lavash Restaurant, Yerevan, Armenia, November 22, 2019

Armenia often fails to attract travelers’ attention due to other popular destinations in the region, such as Georgia and Turkey. But during my 10 days of stay in the country, I was pleasantly surprised by its charm in several aspects. Despite the small land size, Armenia boasts a long history, a strong sense of identity and rich cultural heritage both in tangible and intangible forms, which includes its cuisine. ‘Khurjin’ in the Armenian language means ‘pouch’ or ‘bag knot’. This traditional Armenian dish contains a large...
- TRAVEL DIARYDaily NotesRussia

Detours @  Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, October 29, 2019

    Detours After over one month of living like a Muscovite, I hit the road again to the south. In Moscow, I had focused on some of the longer-term projects while moving around predominantly with Moscow Metro. From now on, I’ll be constantly driving each day as I explore the Caucasus region, probably until I finish visiting Armenia by the end of November. Russia is very big. And sometimes there is no ‘next big city’ during the next five hours of driving, which is the amount...
- TRAVEL DIARYDaily NotesRussia

A map of feelings @ The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, September 28, 2019

A map of feelings St. Petersburg is often called the ‘cultural’ capital of Russia. The nickname was originally given by Boris Yeltsin, and some Russian people I met found the idea puzzling or controversial. In any case, I know that the world-famous Hermitage Museum is on the ‘must-visit’ list for tourists visiting the city. But during my 3-week-long stay there, I ended up not visiting the museum, and I still don’t regret it too much. During the past two years, I’ve visited 55 countries and many more...
- TRAVEL DIARYDaily NotesRussia

A brief time travel and the start of the final chapter

A brief time travel and the start of the final chapter On September 5th, I took a flight from Moscow to Korea to visit family. It turned out that the day was my 2nd travel anniversary, which was a pure coincidence. I had thought about taking the time at the airport to record how I feel about having spent two years traveling. But as is often the case, at the end I was only grateful to have made it to the gate only 20 minutes before...