offpeakfang

Hamayuu of Kampu Ferry, docked in Busan Port next to the passenger terminal   There seem to be plenty of travelogues showing the Busan to Fukuoka fast ferry, but there's very little information on Kampu Ferry's overnight service from Busan to Shimonoseki. I do much prefer overnight journeys like this to save on a night of accommodation and arrive in the morning in a much more time-efficient way. So, here's my attempt to add some detail to what the journey is like. Check-in at Busan Port International Passenger Terminal   The Busan Port International Passenger Terminal is a short walk from Busan railway station along some enormous elevated walkways, just like lots of other ferry terminals. Check-in was from 1730-1850 for the 2100 departure, at the Pukwan Ferry window (seems like Kampu Ferry and Pukwan Ferry are different-language names for the same company). I was handed some forms to fill in, and was then given a boarding pass after I handed those in. This is also where pa

Naengmyeon , Hamhung style: a classic north Korean noodle dish of iced buckwheat noodles Having spent a few days in South Korea, mostly looking at historic architecture and eating a lot of food and particularly containing gochujang and all the sides of pickles traditional to Korean meals, I had several observations.  Heungnyemun Gate, Gyeoungbokgung Palace, Seoul Gyeoungbokgung Palace , the old Korean royal palace, is one of the main tourist attractions of South Korea. I visited on the 3rd October 2023, which happened to be National Foundation Day , marking the legendary formation of the first Korean state of Gojoseon in 2333 BC. Hence my disappointment when the internet claimed that the palace closes on national holidays. Well, even if the inside were closed, I could still have a look at the outside. But instead, closed turned out to mean free entry for the day . Fantastic.  The entire complex took a few hours to finish visiting, with its many pavilions and gardens and mini-museums.

The New Golden Bridge VII ferry at Weihai, China, before its crossing to Incheon, South Korea.  There is precious little English-language information online about how to get from China to South Korea by ferry: there are several ferry links, some of which have been mentioned on various English-language travel websites, but no information post-pandemic. For that matter, it seems there's only one company (Weidong Ferry) that has useable information even on the Chinese-language internet. So, here's my experience: I believe this will be the only English-language post-pandemic information on this ferry link on the internet as of publication.  First, the schedule: ferries run Qingdao-Incheon or Weihai-Incheon on alternate days: the ferry leaves Qingdao on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving in Incheon at 1100 the following morning. It then runs from Weihai on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Sundays, arriving at 1000 the next morning. From Weihai, the ferry leaves at 2100, but passenger c

Arrival at Beijing West railway station In the space of 10 years, China went from having no high speed rail at all to then having more than the rest of the world combined. Like many things in the country, it's all at enormous scale: having a billion people in a country the size of Europe tends to do that.  KCR clock tower, next to the Kowloon waterfront One of Hong Kong's symbols is the clock tower of the former 1910-built Kowloon station of the Kowloon - Canton Railway, closed and demolished in 1975. It's a shame, especially given how it's right next to the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island.  Star Ferry approaching from Hong Kong Island The Star Ferry is a HK institution in its own right and is such a scenic way of arriving at Hong Kong Island. It reminded me of the Mersey Ferry in Liverpool, a similar crossing on similar-era boats.  View from Victoria Peak One of the classic views of the city is from Victoria Peak, accessible from the Peak Tram. Circumnavigating the peak

Flying over Iraq: possibly Najaf Out of all the London airports, Gatwick Airport is the most annoying airport to get to from East Anglia. I'd have much preferred going from Norwich or literally any of the other London ones, but leaving from Gatwick was considerably cheaper and my Ipswich - Gatwick Airport rail ticket was £11.90 - a similar price to the Ipswich - Stansted coach. At least Gatwick is an airport where one can turn up 1¾ hours before the scheduled flight departure for a long-haul flight without getting nervous.  LGW - DOH: BA2033, 1405-2350 There was a time - not that long ago - when I quite liked flying with British Airways. Long-haul economy class isn't that different between most airlines, but for a long time they'd even offer Worcestershire sauce with their tomato juice and had a doing-things-properly kind of vibe. Alas, not any more. The in-flight entertainment was quite good, with a strong British focus and I could even listen to BBC Proms on the way to Do

Hong Kong, as viewed from West Kowloon Cultural district, September 2023.  After three years of zero-Covid policy, quarantines and closed borders, I had some paperwork to do in mainland China that required me to visit for the first time in four years. This was also at a time when I have friends living in nearby Hong Kong and Japan. Hence formed an idea for my usual kind of epic overland adventure, but on the other side of the world: Hong Kong to Japan without flying. How hard could it be?  Overall, this was an outstanding trip, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was very fun to experience so many cultures and traverse several countries over the space of three weeks, covering 5355 km by rail and another ~600 km by ferry. The fact that China to South Korea passenger ferries only restarted a few weeks before I used it, together with how the vast majority of passengers were local traders, means that I strongly suspect I am the first person to have done this journey since at least 2019

Prince's Palace, Monaco, March 2020 Monaco is the second-smallest country in the world, after the Vatican City. I visited on the last day of my truncated microstates itinerary around Europe.  Having arrived in Nice on a surprisingly pleasant and memorable overnight coach journey from Lyon, I made the short walk through the deserted Niçard streets to a train station. Conveniently, the coach station is right next to the Nice Riquier commuter rail station, which even happens to be one stop closer along the line to Monaco than the main Nice Ville station. I'd even arrived in Nice an hour early, so had some extra time to play with in the microstate as well.  TER from Nice Riquier The journey from Nice Riquier to Monaco Monte Carlo was only 21 minutes. The train was somewhat busy as it was very much the morning peak, but that didn't really matter for such a short journey.  Monaco Monte Carlo station. It even has direct trains to Moscow on the Nice-Moscow route, the longest direct