Mark Baker - Year 39Stories from my travels
I am currently working my notice and everything is very nearly in place for me to fly out of the country on the 10th of July. But why am I in this situation and how did it happen when less than two years ago I had a nice house, a good job, and was living […]
Do you like my cards? I do, however the Zen Dog really appealed to me. Thought was given to it and it was made personal, it relates to how the next year is hopefully going to be. The words inside related to fun and experiences, both of these are really important to me. Life is short […]
As I start to write this post I am sat on the Lake Terrace at the Barbican Centre and feeling ripped off in the purchase of a 250ml Tropicana Orange juice (£2.75!!). Just 40 minute after leaving the Russia Visa Application Centre. The first part of this morning was all very official, take a ticket, […]
This morning I had a knock at the door and it was the postman. He returned my documentation and passport, but almost as importantly my passport contained the visas for Russia and China! I can now travel to my first destination of St Petersburg on the 10th of July. The plan is coming together, then […]
Travelling alone and not really liking Selfie Sticks, a feeling which was increased on my recent trip to London when walking across Westminster Bridge, I had to decide on another solution. I would like to introduce you to ‘Happy Hippo’. I like Hippos because they make me laugh, and yawn ;-). I particularly like this Hippo […]
This is me leaving the house this morning because today I travelled to London to stay over night before catching my flight early tomorrow morning for my year of travelling. Leaving Boston, and my friends, was a feeling of mixed emotions. I am excited about the adventure but know I will miss the people and the […]
Landing in St Petersburg at 14:20 local time I was ready to get off the plane and start exploring. This did not happen, but what did happen was much more advantageous. Leaving the plane and walking down the tunnel I arrived at a very crowded hall, full of people I quickly realised that this was […]
A couple of days before I left the UK I read a few pages in the St Petersburg edition of the Lonely Planet. I am so glad I did and please if you are ever planning on coming here take the advice. Purchase your ticket online before arriving. The queues were huge, so big I […]
With my two day pass for the hermitage, I gained access to the Hermitage General Staff Building too. It was an amazing building on the inside (click image above to open gallery) with a balanced mix of modern and traditional. The pictures on display were amazing . There were lots of Monet’s, Renoirs, Van Gough’s […]
This was one of the those moment when I walked in side and said WOW! Yesterday evening after doing my post for the day I went for a walk to look at this church from the outside again. To my surprise it stays opens until 10:30pm. I bought my ticket for about a £5 and entered. The […]
This evening, very near midnight, I catch an overnight train to Moscow arriving at 7:55am. So this morning I thought I would go for an early morning stroll prior to checking out and going to a hostel for the rest of the day to work on a website. My walk was quite interesting, I saw […]
This journey was made better by three events – 1. I’d forgotten I had book myself a first class ticket 🙂 2. It is an amazing train with a iconic past as the quote from www.russiantrains.com demonstrates: The Red Arrow train first chugged along the historic railway line between the two capitals of Russia in 1931, and has […]
Departing the overnight train from St Petersburg, I thought I would be at my hotel and settled with in an hour and half. I was wrong. My first day in Moscow could be best described in one word ‘lost’. I followed the sign to the subway train, to be told that I needed to use […]
My original plan today was to explore Red Square and The Kremlin, However that changed and I will do that tomorrow now. This morning at breakfast, when I learnt that what I thought was milk, was in fact a Russian form of sour yoghurt as it splodged on to my Corn flakes, Dr. tom said he […]
Today was a day of exploring as much as we were allowed with out getting told off by the guards in Kremlin and Red Square. Morris, the new person who arrived in the hostel last night, and I walking the 20 mins to Red Square and wondered at how brilliant it looked. When every thing […]
Good old ‘Lonely Planet’ pointed me in the direction of this most unique of markets. I was looking through the top 10 things to do in Moscow. I have now done most of them, so it was now down to visiting this Market or having a man hit me with birch branches called a ‘Banya’ […]
I rose early to have a wander round and discovered the 1980 Moscow Olympic stadium. Then later, after saying goodbye to a few room mates who were getting on their respective bikes, one motor and the other pedal to head deeper in to Russia, Dr Tom, Renarta (from Brazil, but lives in Spain) and I visited […]
I had no real plans to visit the Ballet whilst in Moscow, however when Ali, a new person in my hostel room said he had a ticket to go yesterday evening, I thought why not go too! So whilst walking back from the english bookshops, I need a paperback book for the train in case my […]
At my second attempt of finding somewhere to stay in Moscow I really ‘nailed it’ picking ‘Godzilla Hostel’. It was secure, tidy, friendly and very close to metro a station and only a 20 min walk to the Red Square. The people I met there was pretty amazing, everybody having there own very interesting story […]
Leaving Moscow seems a very long time ago. 5 days on train with only a few 15-30 minutes stops each day can do that I guess. Add in to the equation that the train has no WIFI for passengers, there is internet on the train but only for the conductors, and you have a very […]
Having arrived in Ulan Bator at 6:15 in the morning and not being able to check in until 2pm. I though I would explore a little to get me bearings. Using a fantastic app called “Ulmon” (Thank you Paul for showing me this) which allows you to download maps of your destination when you have […]
Today I decided to explore, but before I did ask the owner of the the hotel for some tips. He suggested the Gandantegchenling Monastery, The Mongolian Natural History Museum and Bogd Khaan’s Palace Museum. This worked for me because I needed to pick up my Beijing Train ticket from near where the The Mongolian Natural History Museum. […]
Another very wet and rainy day, but unlike yesterday when it had disappeared by 11am, today it was raining all day. This is not very much different from the UK weather so of to the Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs I went. It was easy to find just behind Freedom Square which I first visited when […]
Today I had booked myself on trip to Terelj National Park Mongolia. On the way the plan was to see the views over the city followed by experiencing some Eagles (and Vultures) and then viewing of the Genghis Khan statue that everyone keeps mentioning. I left the hotel with 2 others; Annabel who is German and has been […]
This 29 hour trip from Ulan Bator to Beijing had much more variation than the 4 night journey from Moscow to Ulan Bator. The Scenery changed more often, as too did the wheels on the train as you can see from the photos above. The width of the railway track differ between Mongolia and China by only 10cm […]
Using the note the lady a reception kindly wrote explaining I do not eat meat. I would like to be able to tell you what I ate, but I don’t know what it is was. I am 90% sure it had no meat. After which I had a relaxing afternoon on my computer and getting settled. Settling […]
This afternoon I went back to Tiananmen Square after this mornings trip. This time I was going to look at the surrounding area, which is mostly shops. These shop though felt very Chinese. The photo above was taken because I felt over whelm with lots of information but understood so little of it I thought it […]
Today was an eclectic mix of both the modern, the past and finally the present/future. I started by visiting the 2008 Olympic Park which was quite exciting and a hive of activity getting ready for the 2015 IAAF Athletics World Championship at the end of the month. I read the other day that Beijing has been […]
I have been fascinated by natural healing for quite a few years now, hence creating my Possible Mind blog. So whilst in Beijing I searched for natural healers. I found the Beijing Tibetan Hospital. With a bit research the location and nearest metro stop was found. Today I made the trip and met with a Tibetan […]
Using the Beijing Metro for the last few days has been an interesting experience. There are a few features it has which London does not. This is contrast to Moscow which could learn from London and Beijing especially around signage. Beijing does it utmost to be clear in where you are heading, what the next […]
Today I decide not to do very much based on the fact that both of ankles are swollen due to Mosquito bites and tomorrow I plan to walk a bit of the great wall. All I have done today is book my next location in China, which involves a 10 hour train journey this Friday. […]
Today I visited the Great Wall. It was a bit of a slug to get there but really worth it. Three became two right at the start of the day when Jordan decided to do the trip another day because he was not feeling too well. When our mini bus arrived at 7:30am, half an […]
Today I planned to see more of the Forbidden City because I don’t think I saw it all last time. I got there and the queues were really long and there was no way I was going to queue to go in. However the big bonus was that to the side of the City was […]
I had a 10 and a bit hour journey to Guilin today. I have some photos to share but not much of story unfortunately because I have sat on train full of people who spoke no English. Finding the right platform and train was simple once I found the correct building and zeroed in on […]
After arriving in GuiLin yesterday evening and a good nights sleep. I had a couple of hours exploring the city before heading to YangShuo. I saw a few of the main sights and may have time to see the ones I missed when I return to catch my train to the next destination in China. […]
Waking at 6am I decided to, once again, explore the town early. I am really pleased I did. I got to experience something I would never have seen had I not been up early. I had been walking from the hostel for 20 minutes when I heard drums and bugles. I was expecting to walk around […]
When I first decided to visit YangShuo it was because of the views of the amazing rock formations poking out of the ground. Today my plan was to hike up to the Television mask to look out over the city. But first breakfast! The most amazing pancakes dribbled in maple syrup topped with Bananas. Whilst […]
During my first afternoon here in YangShuo I saw a man walking along some stepping stones in the river. This morning after I had woke and meditated I decided to see if I could find my way to this part of the river. It took a little while to find the correct entrance, at one point I […]
My afternoon got off to a rocky start when the shop I was to meet the instructor at was closed. The instructor, Hector from Spain, arrived on time but was as surprised as me to see it locked. After about an hour we were ready to go. I had my training shoes, helmet and harness. […]
After staying in Yangshuo for 4 days I chose to head to Shanghai to do some volunteering. So although I loved my stay I had to leave to head back to Guilin on the bus. This journey was much less eventful than it the opposite was, mainly because I had a plan and now roughly […]
It was pouring down as I left the Guilin hostel at 6am on the Thursday morning to catch the train to Shanghai. It was the first time had to use me rain mac! On the recommendation of the hostel I found a taxi to take me the 40 minutes or so to Guilin North station, […]
After leaving the train I headed straight for the metro, once there I realised I did not know where to go because it was 6:30am and too early to go to the hostel. So I decided I would head to the Peoples Square and see what it looked like before too many people got up. Coming […]
This morning I had my induction at the Shanghai Healing Home on the outskirts of the city. I arrived at the JinJing Road Metro station in good time, though I was not sure of what would happen after this point because the instructions were unclear. I didn’t know if I was going to be picked […]
Today I thought I would do very little. I felt I needed one of the days. Yesterday I saw a barbers a few doors up from the hostel, so I thought I would pop in a for a chop. I got more than I bargained for. I thought we had clearly conversed that I would […]
Today I went to Zhujiajiao, getting there it was a few subway stops followed by a 40 min to 1 and half hour journey depending on which bus I caught. I had no idea how to tell the difference so that was going to be down to luck. Lady luck was on my side on the way […]
Waking this morning I felt fresher and more sprightly. So I packed my bags because today I am off to another hostel after volunteering. The 1 and half hour trip to the Orphanage went smoothly, my driver picked me up from the Subway Station on time and I was at the Shanghai Healing Home ready […]
Wednesday morning I was supposed to be volunteering at the orphanage, however my fever on Tuesday evening put an end to that because I did not want to pass it on to the children. Most of Wednesday morning I spent in bed reading and recovering, after letting the Shanghai Healing Home know I would not […]
Arriving at Jinhal Metro station a few minutes early I enjoyed a Pineapple yoghurt and an orange juice for breakfast. My driver arrived a little while later and I got to the Orphanage just before 9am. Today was quite awkward because for some reason the nurse who was the only person who spoke english was […]
Whilst in a hostel in YangShuo I was speaking to a friendly and helpful Scottish girl who had already been to Shanghai. She stated one of her best experiences had been looking out over the city from the Hyatt hotels Vue Bar on the 32nd floor. The last day or so I have been chatting […]
Tomorrow morning I leave my hostel to head to Shanghai Airport, to get there I will need to use the MagLev which is the worlds fast train. I am quite looking forward to this. Before I board this bullet to the airport to catch my plane to Busan in South Korea I think it only […]
I have now arrived in South Korea with a day very much Sandwiched by high speed with a filling of delays in between. Either way I am here now and it has a completely different feel to China. I am not sure how yet but it definitely feels different. The day started with the worlds […]
A very wet day in Busan today, I was told it was a typhoon. If it was it was a very small one because it was just like a very rainy and windy day in the UK that did not stop all day. My plan for the day was to walk about and explore the city […]
After a relaxing morning I decided to re-explore the Gwangalli Area around the Busan Cinema Centre because on Tuesday when I was there it rained hard all day. Today though was Sunny and I first went back to the Shinsegae CentumCity department store to get some lunch. I have concluded that shopping malls are the best […]
I have been looking forward to exploring the Haeundae beach for a few days now and although I preferred the one at Gwangalli, I still liked the area especially the cliffside walk and the views. I have noticed the kindness of the Korean, they could not be more helpful, smiley and kind. If a person […]
Today I flew to JeJu a little island right at the south of South Korea. I thought it was going to be smaller than it is. It took me 1 hour in a taxi to get from the north, where the airport is situated, to the South where I am staying in an area called […]
Today I thought I would explore further and searched for the Jeongbang waterfall. The best part of this one was that you could get really close. So close that I got wet from the kist. I really love the sound of water crashing and could not help but reflect on life as I stood there […]
This morning I flew from JeJu to Seoul on Korean Air. I shared a taxi with Dan, the guy who use to work for Microsoft, to the airport. This is a half an hour quicker and much less hassle than a bus. After a very short flight of 45 minutes we arrived at the super […]
The Cheong-gye-cheon Area of Seoul came highly recommended because of its modern recreational space and palaces. In 2003 an old underground stream was revealed when an elevated highway was removed. It was then decided that it should be renovated and $900 million later is was refurbish to be an amazing 10km stream with walk ways and stepping […]
Today I took the metro several stops to the Dongnimmun station to hick up Inwang-san Mountain. I found the best way to get to main parts by a great review on Trip Advisor. The assent was very steep and, as you would expect, the views were fantastic. Like yesterday there was contrast, the peaceful mountain […]
Insadong Street is described by visit Korea as: ..one of the most memorable attractions in Seoul and represents the focal point of Korean traditional culture and crafts. Stores in Insa-dong specialize in a wide variety of goods that can only be purchased or appreciated in Korea: hanbok (traditional clothing), hanji (traditional paper), traditional teas, pottery, […]
The quirky Hapjeong area of Seoul near my new Hostel took me by surprise. Once settled at the Hostel I discovered two delights. A very unique shopping centre that has umbrellas as shelter. There also was the most amazing pasta restaurant where I had lunch. Near my hostel I discovered a book cafe which was […]
Today was to be all about learning the basics of a cool Korean acupuncture technique called Korean Hand Therapy (KHT) but it turned out to be more than that. A couple of stops from the metro station where I had to go for the KHT basic session was Dongdaemun which was supposed to have a […]
Today was another day where I had a plan to meet an expert in mind body healing. Raimund Royer is an doctor in Korean Traditional Medicine(KTM) and his story is quite amazing. He visit Korea in the 80’s hurt his ankle and had acupuncture to help with the pain, to his surprise it worked. He […]
I have read a lot about digital nomads and it is a concept I like the idea off. Working from different locations has always seemed a great idea to me, with the quote ringing in my ear – “Variety is the spice of life” I visited a co-working space called ‘Hive Arena‘. Co-working spaces are […]
Getting to the Gwanhga bus terminal on the 3000 bus from Sinchon took around 2 hours, 30 minutes longer than I had anticipated after reading an online article. Either way it was quite simple, except for working out how to pay. It turns out I needed to, at the start and end of journey, swipe […]
The day started with a wander several blocks from the hostel to the Olympic stadium. I realised on my way back that I have now visit or seen a few Olympic stadiums including the 1980 Moscow, 1992 Barcelona (a couple of years ago), 2008 Beijing and now 1988 Seoul. I just need to see 1984 […]
Since leaving the UK I have been doing quite a bit of reading and my interest in Zen led me to learn a little more about Taoism. Upon arriving in Korea I decided I would look for groups and training courses on topics I am interested in like the power of the mind, pain management […]
After getting up and planning a relaxing day of working on a website and preparing for my trip to Japan. This was until I got chatting to two Australians in my room Airdre and Jordan from Australia who are teaching in Japan but visiting Seoul for a few days. They invited me to join them […]
My biding memories of Korea will always be staying with Master Kim, The Temple Stay, the food with oval metal chopsticks and the modern architecture. My final night in Korea was spent at the zzzip guesthouse which I have to say is one the best I have stayed in. The Korean couple that own it, […]
This morning I rose at 5:50am and walked the 5 minutes to the Sumo Arena and queued in the rain for two hours to get a ticket for todays Grand Sumo Tournament event. I could have watched the bouts from 10:30am until 6pm, but felt that would be too much. So I planned, after talking […]
Today I had a look around the skyscraper and shopping districts Shibuya and Harajuku area. I was hoping to see the some modern architecture and some nice minimalist clothes and furniture design along with plastic fantastic gadgets. After getting off the crowded train and seeing my first Hello Kitty in Japan, I though I would […]
After speaking the receptionist in the hostel yesterday. He recommended that if I wanted to see a more modern side of Tokyo I could visit the Odaiba area. I was not disappointed this was much more what I had expected Tokyo to be like, as you can see from the photos. The highlight of the […]
Going to bed the day before yesterday my plan was to get up have some breakfast and make my way to Osaka around lunchtime. At about 5am I was wide awake, I will put this down to my stay with Master Kim, and I checked my phone to see a message from David who I’d […]
Today I explored the centre of the city, in particular the area around Osaka train station. The highlight was the Umeda Sky Building, which I have to say is an amazing piece of architecture that with it exposed escalators reminded me of the Lloyds building in London. It is called the Sky Building because the […]
I visited the Namba district on my first day and loved it. I said it would be great to see at night when it has a different feel. Yesterday morning I met up with David for breakfast before he went off for the day with a girl he’d met in Hong Kong. They had a […]
My plan to get from Osaka to Kyoto involved a 40 min trip to Shin-Osaka main station hoping on train for another 40 mins, changing to the subway and making my way to the hotel. Before I left the Osaka hostel I asked for the best route to Kyoto from Osaka. The guy informed that […]
This is possibly the coolest hotel I have ever stayed in. I love the design and flow of the hotel and the futuristic capsule in which guests sleep. The locker room and shower area: The Capsule area is just so cool!: My only gripe is that with all the design and consideration of the whole […]
Yesterday arriving at my hotel, yes another hotel it’s just the way it worked in Kyoto over this weekend, at midday I could not check in until 4pm so I thought I would see some off the main attractions Kyoto has to offer. The first I saw was amazing and very convenient. Fushimi Inari Taishi […]
A relaxing Sunday, reading books about Sumo and practising Origami, with two quick visits to very impressive temples: The first Sanjusangendo which has over a thousand ‘Kannon’ statues that stand around the buddha. The second is a really nice 3 tiered temple that has relaxing ponds with Japanese Koi Carp to look at. Randomly in […]
This morning I woke early and decided to go for a stroll upto the area where the temple are, however on the was I spotted a riverside walk which I did instead. It was relaxing and there many bird swooping and paddling as I walked along. The last few days I have been relaxing in […]
Yesterdays trip to Hiroshima from Kyoto was all quite simple on the bullet train. When I arrived at the hostel at 4pm I decided to chill and explore the city in the morning. Today I got up and caught the street car, a tram like vehicle, to the Genbaku Dome-Mae stop. From here it is […]
This little island just of Hiroshima is a 35 min street car ride to the Hiroden-miyajima-guchi stop and a simple 10 min ferry ride away from the hostel. Once arriving on the island the thing that moves you first is the dears and how people friendly they are. In the UK dears are notoriously shy, […]
I am conscious that I have not blogged for the last few days. In that time I have not really done much except have another look around Hiroshima peace park at night and then once more on my way to Hiroshima Train Station. The final time I visited the A-Bomb Dome I noticed Cranes, the […]
This morning I woke at 5am and realised that I had not seen a sunrise since I was staying with the Taoist Master in South Korea. So up I got and went for a walk. As you can see above the Dōtonbori canal looks great as the light begins to appear. I really enjoyed the […]
I have now rented an apartment for 2 weeks on AirBnB in preparation for my friend to fly from the UK with his 1 year old child. So you will be seeing more photos of me and possibly with a little baby boy, just thought I would warn you. AirBnB is great way to book […]
For the first day and after Devon has adjusted to the time zone with his first overnight sleep. We decided to explore the area a little bit and started at Shinsekai before visiting the zoo. The zoo on some levels was great and Devon enjoyed a few of the animals before his morning nap. We […]
Today we all went to an amazing fish market and then a stroll to see the Lamborghini and Mclaren salesrooms. We then arrived in Umeda where Devon had a paddle in the fountain before we went up to the top of the Umeda Sky Garden to see the Osaka night skyline. On the way back […]
Todays visit to Osaka Castle was relaxing one where we sat on the grass and Devon introduced himself to some school children. From the Castle we headed to the amazing aquarium where the animals were a lot happier than at the Zoo. As you can see from the photos Devon, Ben and I really enjoyed […]
We had a great day looking around Namba parks which is shopping mall with a difference in that is is covered in trees and has nice places to sit down. At Tennoji Park Devon continued to get lots of attention because of his cuteness, blonde hair and blue eyes. His happy and chuckly disposition helps […]
Today Ben and Devon had their first experience of the Japanese Bullet Train. We got up early and caught the train to Hiroshima to hopefully watch a regional Sumo tournament. Before we got to the Sports Centre where the Sumo was being held we had a look at the A Bomb Dome and the Peace […]
Sunday morning we got up and left the apartment to see the 5th Osaka Marathon in progress. After watching this for a while we headed to Tenojei park once again for Devon to work his charm and have fun playing ball in the park. We then strolled the area and found a shopping mall to […]
We caught the JR train from Tennoji to Iga-Ueno and then on to Uenoshi which in the end took 2 hours, which was about double the time we were expecting. It was worth it to visit the Ninja Museum because it was very cool, informative and had we gone on a different day we would […]
A visit to Universal Studios in Osaka was high on Ben’s list so today we visited it and it was really easy to get to and get in. Because we left around rush hour the trains to the Universal City station were busy and we had a pram we could not get on many of […]
The last couple of days we have been to Kyoto on the train where we experienced an amazing fish market and few temples. Yesterday we spent in Osaka exploring Tennoji again, before finding a park along the river near Yodoyabashi station. We then found an amazing Dragon Temple near our apartment which is possibly the […]
Today is Halloween and every where we look everybody is dressed up, so when had lunch Devon got in the act too. This afternoon we went on a big red ferries wheel which is situated on top of building next to Osaka JR station. The views were really nice and very reasonable at (about £3) […]
Today I caught my 4 hour flight from a rainy Osaka to a sunny and very warm Manila in the Philippines. This is because I crossed the equator in to summertime in the southern hemispere. Upon arriving in Manila I caught a taxi to my DG Budget Hotel which was a complete contrast to the […]
A couple of days ago I caught a very early 7am flight, I had to be at the airport for 4am, from Manila to Boracay to meet me friend Dennis. The plane was a propellor type that did not hold many people, which was pretty cool. Once it landed at Caticlan airport I had to […]
Yesterday I went Scuba diving. What struck me about this sport is that the gear is such a simple concept that opens a whole new world under the Sea. I was considering getting my Open Water PADI license but decided against it because I am not sure how often I will do it again. It […]
Yesterday evening I went to ‘watch’ folk dancing and go for some food with a few of Dennis’ old students who are now working in Boracay. Dennis is in Manila at a meeting. Once we got to the dancing and ate some food I ended up getting pulled up on the stage to have ago. […]
The reason I am here in Boracay is to celebrate my friends 40th Birthday with him. So the night before last, when Dennis returned from Manila, we went to Club Wave on the sea front for couple of drinks, a dance and a Pizza. Yesterday, Dennis’ actual birthday, we went Island Hopping which involved getting […]