What's to see in Melbourne, Australia and its neighborhoods?

Flying into Melbourne, I didn't know what to expect. I had no idea that Melbourne has been consistently named the world’s most liveable city, for the fourth year in a row this year. Also this year, it was named the world’s friendliest city.

View of Hobart and the Government House from the Tasman Bridge

One of the images of Hobart that stuck in my mind was that of the city at the foot of Mount Wellington as we crossed the Tasman Bridge coming in from the Hobart International Airport. So I planned to walk over to the bridge during my last day, even though I had just an hour or two to spare.

Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania, Australia

Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania is one of the Australian Convict Sites, a World Heritage property. This former convict settlement is Tasmania's top tourist attraction.

The Australian Convict Sites are eleven convict colonies that represent the thousands of penal settlements established in Australia between 1787 to 1868. This eighty year period saw the transportation of over 166,000 men, women and children, condemned by the British justice system to Australia. Five of the sites are in Tasmania, namely Brickendon and Woolmers Estates, Darlington Probation Station, Cascades Female Factory, Coal Mines Historic Site, and the Port Arthur Historic Site which I got to visit.

Visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in North Korea!

Believe it or not, despite many visits to South Korea, I've never been to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). I thus found it exciting that my first visit to the DMZ would be on the North Korean side!

We left Pyongyang quite early for the roughly two-hour trip south to the border in what used to be the village of Panmunjom. Today, it's where the Joint Security Area (JSA) is located. The JSA is the place where you can technically cross the border without getting into trouble. And that's where all tours will take you.

Exploring Pyongyang, North Korea

To those who are surprised that I got to visit North Korea, the DPRK is not as isolated as one may think. There are regular tours that leave from Beijing, China allowing you various options to get there. I took a 24-hour train ride (that was delayed for about two hours) from Beijing to Pyongyang. We arrived at the Pyongyang Train Station early in the evening and went straight to our hotel. So the real exploring started the next day.