Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An & My Son

It was my sixth time (technically seventh if you count immigration stamps) to visit Vietnam. And finally, I had the chance to fly over to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City. Too bad there are no direct flights from the Philippines. I also got to return to Hue and Hoi An and visited Ha Long Bay and My Son for the first time. I actually coined my own term and refer to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Hoi An and Ha Long Bay as the 5Hs of Vietnam, the five must-visit places when planing a trip there. So before I forget again, here are photos from the trip which are now in the Ivan About Town FB page.

June 23-25 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
June 25-27 - Hanoi, Vietnam
June 27 - Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
June 28 - My Son and Hoi An, Vietnam
June 29 - Hue, Vietnam

South Korea: Seoul, Gyeongju, Yandong Village, Hahoe Village & Suwon

In September 2010, I visited several cities in South Korea by train from Seoul including Gyeongju, Yandong Village (also in Gyeongju), Hahoe Village (Andong) and Suwon. Again, it's been quite a while and I haven't had time to write about the trip. So in the meantime, here are photos from the trip which are now in the Ivan About Town FB page.

September 21-22 - Seoul, South Korea
September 23-24 - Gyeongju, South Korea
September 24 - Hahoe Village, South Korea
September 24-25 - Suwon, South Korea
September 26 - Seoul, South Korea

Japan: Hiroshima, Miyajima, Himeji, Nikko, Takayama, Shirakawa-go & Osaka

After five days in Hiroshima to attend the UNITAR Series on the Management & Conservation of World Heritage Sites 2011 (where I celebrated my birthday) and another five days exploring Miyajima, Himeji, Nikko, Takayama, Shirakawa-go and Osaka, I'm finally back in Manila. Here are photos from the trip which are now in the Ivan About Town FB page. I'll also try to upload photos of a 2008 trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Nagoya which are currently in my Multiply.

July 4-8 - Hiroshima, Japan
July 7 - Miyajima, Japan
July 8 - Himeji, Japan
July 9-10 - Nikko, Japan
July 10 - Takayama, Japan
July 11 - Shirakawa-go, Japan
July 12 - Osaka, Japan