I recently had a most wonderful trip to Puerto Rico, a Caribbean gem, that comes bundled with gorgeous beaches, lovely touristic attraction and friendly welcoming people. I spent a few days wondering around the small island with a rental car
Nanjing Purple Mountains & Botanical Gardens
If you want to see Nanjing from above, make your way to the Nanjing Purple Mountains (紫金山, Zijinshan). After wrapping up a few temples, ancient city walls and lakes in Nanjing, we set to see a bit of the nature
Saint Augustine Beach
Extending my Gainesville conference visit a bit further to the east, I made my way to Saint Augustine, touristicly branded as "the oldest city" in the US. Of all that I’ve seen so far in Florida, I would say this
Treasure Hill Temple : Taipei
Next to the newly renovated Treasure Hill – a military neighborhood turned artist village – lies an old temple dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy – Guan Yin (觀音). This temple dates back almost 300 years, and is well worth
Museum of Florida History : Tallahassee
Unlike the Tallahassee Museum, which is actually a mini-zoo, the Tallahassee Museum of Florida History does look like a museum. Despite having less than 200000 residents it turns out that Tallahassee has quite the selection of museums, over 8 last
Museum of World Religions : Taipei
If the Puppetry Museum and the Museum of Drinking Water didn’t convince you there are lots of great little museums across Taipei, perhaps this one will – the Museum of World Religions. In my last visit to Taipei I made
Magellan’s Cross – Basilica of Santo Niño : Cebu City
Heading towards the beautiful Filipino islands people often skip Cebu City. Though I agree that Cebu City might not be a destination that stands out by itself, if you do have a few hours to burn in Cebu before or
The Houses of Gulang Yu : Xiamen
Want a taste of Europe in China? Gulang Island has just the thing. Though the island has suffered from the ongoing rampage of China’s 20th century political turmoil it still maintains what I believe is among the best selection of
Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology : Harvard University, Boston
A tour around Harvard University has a lot to offer beyond campus life. There are also some terrific museums ran by the university on various topics from a variety of research fields. One of the museums I visited while there
Confucius Temple : Nanjing
Overlooking Qin Huai River and not too far from old Nanjing walls and the Gate of China is the Nanjing Confucius Temple featuring one of the biggest statues of the great teacher. In Taiwan I’ve been told that Confucian temples
