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Diary of a Tourist

A full time engineer, a part time blogger and a lifelong tourist

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Category: Finland

10 things I learnt about Finland

September 6, 2017 Upeksha

Travel broadens the mind, as the saying goes. I love finding little nuggets of information about new places when I visit them. Here are 10 random facts

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Helsinki: Walking Tour Highlights

January 21, 2017 Upeksha

We were only spending one full day in Helsinki, so we arranged to have a guided walking tour in Helsinki with Nick at Finland Local

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Helsinki and Tallinn: A Tale of Two Cities

January 8, 2017 Upeksha

Where did I go: Helsinki and Tallinn When did I go: December 2016 Our pre-Christmas break to Helsinki and Tallinn seems ages ago. I came

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Hello and welcome. I'm Upeksha. A full time engineer, who loves to travel. This is where I record my travel experiences, and share a few hints and tips I've picked up along the way.

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Question: What do you get a travel nut for their Birthday? The complete works of @michael.palin of course, signed by the great man himself! I have been hooked ever since I read Michael Palin’s North Korea at Christmas. Added bonus? @britboxtv and @bbciplayer has all the shows that goes with these, so I’m going to thoroughly enjoy the books and the TV shows. Now, where shall I begin? #traveldocumentary #traveltheworld #michaelpalin #aroundtheworldin80days #poletopole #fullcircle #brazilwithmichaelpalin #saharawithmichalpalin #neweurope

Wishing a happy Lunar new year to everyone celebrating. Here’s hoping for better news about the coronavirus outbreak. Throwback photo from when we visited Chengdu Panda Breeding Research centre last year. . . . #chengdu #chengdupandabase #throwback #panda #giantpanda

Time to start enjoying Christmas presents! (Thank you @jeanette.reynolds.98). Top of my list this year was Michael Palin’s North Korea Journal. A fascinating insight into one of the most secretive states in the World, and to travel documentary film making. To top it off, the journal is so well written. (I clearly have much to learn about travel writing). I finished reading it in 24 hours (over 2 sittings), along with watching the documentary (available on @britboxtv) at the same time. p.s. If you are minded to read this, I’d highly recommend watching the TV programme first, before reading the journal. You will get a much better picture as the journal gives you the inside track on each scene in the documentary (and some that didn’t make it to the final cut). . . @michael.palin #michaelpalin #travelgoals #christmaspresents #michaelpalininnorthkorea

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my family and friends! May you have a happy and healthy 2020. . . . #xmas #xmastree #presents

Le Train Bleu restaurant in Gare du Lyon. Finest French cuisine in the most glamorous of settings, and impeccable service. Worth every penny. Thank you man in @seatsixtyone for the tip! . . . #letrainbleu #garedulyon #frenchcuisine #finedining #finestfrenchcuisine

I don’t normally post food photos when I travel, but these from the market in Lyon were so well presented, I just had to. . . . #frenchfoodmarket #foodmarket #freshfood #freshcheese

Aaaand, Romania makes 32! (Total number of countries visited, that is). Full-on 5 day trip, taking in Bucharest and Transylvania. Out of all the places we visited, this is the most famous by far. Bran Castle - aka Dracula’s castle. I travelled with @explore.worldwide on my first group tour, travelling solo. Details on the whole trip coming up soon on the blog! . . . #travelromania #traveltransylvania #transylvania #brancastle #draculascastle #solotravel #explore #visitromania #visittransilvania #famouscastles

Built in the 17th century, the Potala Palace served as the Winter abode for the Dalai Lama and the seat of government. The building consists of the White palace and the Red palace and has over 1000 rooms. The walls are over 5 meters thick and it is built to withstand Earthquake. Find out all about our visit to Potala Palace on the blog now. See link in bio. . . . #potala #potalapalace #lhasa #tibet #visittibet #visitlhasa #tibetianbuddhism

Day 6 of 12: At the Sera Monastery, just outside Lhasa. Here we saw several “Sand Mandalas”, for which Tibetan Buddhism is famous. The mandalas are an intricate and colourful pattern created entirely with grains of sand. Before laying down the sand, the monks draw the geometric measurements associated with the mandala. The sand granules are then applied using small tubes, funnels, and scrapers. Sand mandalas traditionally take several weeks to build. Once completed, the Mandalas are ritually dismantled. This is aimed at symbolising the Buddhist belief in the transitory nature of life. These were easily one of the most impressive things I saw during the trip. The detail is so fine, and the colours so vibrant, you would think they were needlework rather than sand work. . . . #seramonastery #lhasa #tibet #tibetroadtrip #sandmandala #tibetianbuddism #buddhism #impermanence

Another one from our flight to Tibet. Where the Brahmaputra river flows over the Tibetian Plateau. Minutes later, we had landed in Lhasa Gonggar airport, ready for our Tibetian adventure! . . . #brahmaputra #brahmaputrariver #tibetianplateau #visittibet #tibet #tibettour #tibettourism

Day 5 of 12 of our China and Tibet trip. Flying from Chengdu to Lhasa over the Daxue Mountain Range. Snow capped mountains, Icefields and Glacier fed lakes, on our way to Tibet. . . . #lhasa #tibet #chengdu #chengdutolhasa #icefields #glacierlake #daxuemountains

Northton-Scarista beach on the Isle of Harris. One of my favourite places on Earth. White sand, blue sky and sea. It doesn’t get much better than this. One-week itinerary for Isle Harris now on the blog. See link in Bio. . . . #northonbeach #northton-scarista #isleofharris #visitouterhebrides #visittheouterhebrides #whitesandbluewater #britishbeaches #scottishislands #islandsandhighlands #staycation #lewisandharris #harrisandlewis

Day 3 of 12: Longji Rice Terraces in Ping’an village, Longshen County, Guangxi, China. These cascading rice terraces have been farmed for over 600 years. They looked so mesmerising in the mist, and made the hike well worth the effort! Read the full story on the blog now. Link in bio. . . . #longji #longjiriceterraces #pinganvillage #riceterraces #villagelife #mountains #visitchina #visitlongji

Sometimes I tend to forget how beautiful the British countryside is! This is from a @nationaltrust walk near @ntcoughtoncourt . . . #coughtoncourt #nationaltrust #nationaltrustwalks #stream #countrywalk #countrywalks #britishsummer #ford #britishcountryside #englishcountryside #worcestershire #worcestershirewalks

Day 2 of 12: A rafting trip down the Li river, amongst the mist-wrapped Karst mountains of Yangshuo. This was a highlight of my trip to China earlier this year. Read the full story on the blog now. See link in bio. . . . #yangshuo #liriver #liriverrafting #karstmountains #visitchina #chinavisit #visityangshuo #tripofalifetime #riverrafting #naturalwonders #xingping

Impressions Liu SanJie is a music, dance and light show with of over 600 performers, set on the largest natural theatre in the World. The Li River South of Yangshuo acts as the stage, with 12 Karst mountain peaks providing the back drop. You, the audience, sit on a 5000 seat stadium on an island in the middle of the river. The show is held at night, and the combination of the river, the mountains, the lights and the sheer number of performers combine to make this one of the most extraordinary live performances in the World. Read the full story on the blog now. Link in Bio. . . . #impressionsliusanjie #liusanjieimpressionshow #yangshuo #yangshuochina #liusanjieshow #impressionsliusanjieshow #liriver #karstmountains #naturalwonders #naturalwondersoftheworld

A bridge NOT too far... Footpath across the Barmouth Railway Bridge. Came across this bridge on our afternoon at Barmouth, a railway bridge and foot bridge across the Mawddach estuary, built in 1867. . . . #barmouthbridge #barmouthbeach #barmouth #barmouthwales #sunnyday #woodenbridge #abridgetoofar #abridgenottoofar #pedestrianbridge #visitwales #bridgeinwales #welshbridge

Pink gin and a Piano. Lovely start to the weekend at @ffynnonboutique hotel, Dolgellau . . #friday #fridaycocktails #bringontheweekend #boutiquehotel #ginandpiano

China: Day 1 of 12: Dr Sun Yat-Sen memorial in Guangzhou. The memorial hall is built in the name of Dr Sun Yat-Sen, who was the first president of the Chinese Republic. We also visited the Chen family temple, and the Six Banyan tree temple, before catching a train to Yangshuo. Read the full story on the blog now. Link in bio. . . . #guangzhou #drsunyatsenmemorialhall #chenfamilytemple #sixbanyantemple #chinesetemple #offagainontravels #visitguangzhou #visitchina #chinesearchitecture #travelchina #travelblogger #diaryofatourist #tourdiaries #tripofalifetime #southernchina #doyoureallyknowchina

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Yamdarok Lake of Tibet, Rice Terraces in Longshen, Liu Sanje Show in Yangshuo, the Giant Buddha of Leshan and Giant Pandas of Chengdu. What do these all have in common? They were all highlights of my trip to Southern China and Tibet in April. Over the coming weeks, I will be doing detailed posts on the blog on each of these. For now, check out the highlights and the itinerary. See link in Bio. . . . #potalapalace #yamdarok #yamdaroklake #liusanjieshow #liusanjieimpressionshow #longjiriceterraces #longjiriceterraces #leshanbuddha #giantbuddha #giantpanda #chengdu #yangshuo #tibet #lhasa #longshen #leshan #tripofalifetime #southernchina #doyoureallyknowchina

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