Dali is one of those places that I really hoped I wouldn’t dislike. Its description in the guidebooks made it sound so pleasant a town—except for one thing—the growing number Chinese tourists. Well, there were tons of tourists, but Chinese tourists seem to stick together in group tours and don’t drift very far from the main tourist drag. There is one long pedestrianized street in Dali where the masses appear to meander slowly, stopping and shopping as they go. This street has been architecturally prettied and is crammed with one souvenir shop after another. Turn off this main artery and the city becomes more interesting.

How Dali differs, from say, Lijiang, is that it is actually a city where local people live. In Lijiang, the entire old town population has been pushed out to who-knows-where in favor of tourist stalls, restaurants, and guesthouses.

Dali is a cool place to hang out for a while, and the only town in China that I could foresee myself living. It’s lively without being annoyingly noisy. There is a strong bohemian vibe which has attracted creative types from around China. You’ll find plenty of coffee shops, boutique clothe shops, art galleries, small cafes, live music, and plenty of artists.

Dali is set in an inspiring location. The spiky peaks of the Cang Shan and the stretching Er Hai lake make you want to get up in the morning and create beautiful things. Unlike most of China, the air is pure, the weather favorable, and the climate mild. It sits at about 2000 meters and hikes lead up into the mountains still higher. Inspiration abounds here.

In the surrounding areas on the west side of the lake are towns and villages holding weekly markets. This region is dominated by the Bai ethnic minority. There are great examples of Bai architecture in Xizhou and an interesting Monday market in Shaping.

Chi Lin Nunnery is an elegant wooden temple built without nails in the Tang style. Adjacent to the temple is the tranquil Nam Lian Gardens, a reconstruction of a Tang-era garden. Stroll on a curving walkway past pavilions, ponds, hills, and sculpted pines. It is a fine example displaying the rich culture of the classical Chinese garden.

The garden is supposed to not only serve as an ideal place to spend leisure time, but to visibly manifest the integration between art and wisdom. The design concept of Nam Lian is focused on a one-way circular touring route intended for quiet contemplation.

All this right in the midst of the great bustle of urban Hong Kong.

If you go:

Nam Lian Gardens and Chi Lin Nunnery is accessible from Diamond Hill MTR station in Kowloon. Use Exit C2 and follow the sign for a 5 min. walk. The Nunnery is open daily 9am-3:30pm and the gardens from 7am-9pm. Both are free.

Text and Photos by Stephen Bugno

One of the iconic images of all of Asia, the Hong Kong skyline is certainly one of the city’s highlights. There are a few ways to go about getting the best view. I’ll give you my top four picks:

4) From the ICC Tower in West Kowloon.

This is the tallest building in Hong Kong and the fourth tallest in the world. It was completed in 2010 and soars to 484 meters above the city. Views look out across the harbor to Hong Kong Island. You could pay $HK 150 ($20 US) to see the view from the Sky100 observation deck or go to the lobby of the Ritz Carlton on the 103^rd floor to see it for free. Guess which I did?

3) From the Peak.

Victoria Peak, rising above the Hong Kong skyline to the south, affords unbeatable views. You can take the tram up for $HK 36 ($4.80 US) or hike 1 ½ hours up the tramway path like I did. The way rises 386 vertical meters. Once at the top I recommend the hour-long Peak Circuit walk, an easy shaded stroll with more extensive views.

2) From the Star Ferry.

$HK 2 ($.26 US) will get you a ride on the legendary Star Ferry (sorry, there’s no avoiding the fee on this one). Board at the terminal near IFC2 Tower and sail the 10 minutes to Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon. Or take it in reverse.  It’s the best bang for your buck in Hong Kong.

1) From Kowloon during the light show

From the promenade along Victoria Harbour in Kowloon, thousands gather every night to watch the light and laser show on 44 buildings on both sides of the harbor. See neon, beams of light, and occasionally fireworks light up the magnificent cityscape in a presentation known as A Symphony of Lights. It lasts for about 15 minutes and is worth watching at least once. This one’s on the Hong Kong Tourism Board: free admission.

Text and Photos by Stephen Bugno

Stephen Bugno has just set off for 5+ months traveling in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and beyond. Read more about his trip to china on his personal travel blog, Bohemian Traveler.

View of the Star Ferry looking toward Hong Kong Island

View from the 31st floor of the JW Mariott.

View from the 103rd floor of the ICC building

View of Hong Kong skyline from The Peak

Morning in Hong Kong

View of the Hong Kong Skyline at night from Kowloon during the light show

A new junk at night

Quebec City has long been a destination I‘ve wanted to visit. Old Quebec, or Vieux-Québec, has a well-known reputation of rich history being the only city north of Mexico that has retained its fortified city walls.

I would further say that along with Guanajuato, Mexico, Quebec City is the most European of cities in the New World. This was, after all, the capital of New France, founded over 400 years ago.

Although initially settled in 1535 after Jacques Cartier landed, France didn’t establish a permanent city here until 1608, under the auspices of explorer Samuel de Champlain. They called it Kebec, from the Algonquian word meaning ‘the river narrows here’.

We started our tour of Quebec in Place Royale, the Old Lower Town’s main square. There is a huge mural depicting all the major players of Quebec’s history. We also heard a fiddler playing some traditional Quebec music.

After walking thoroughly through the Lower Old Town and Upper Old town, we climbed on top of the ramparts and exited through Porte St. Louis where the handsome Hotel du Parlament, Quebec’s Parliament Building, stands. Grande Alle Est led us to Battlefields Park, a gorgeous green that was once the site of a bloody battle between the English and French.

Close by is the Fine Arts Museum, which is partially located in an old restored prison. Following a look at the outstanding collection of Quebecois and Inuit art we headed over to the bohemian district of Rue St-Jean to try one of the many Quebec micro brews on offer at Bar Le Sacrilege.

We were lucky enough to visit during the Expo Quebec and have excellent couchsurfing hosts that helped us with recommendations and guiding us around the city, as well as teaching us about Quebecois culture and history.

The mural at Place Royale

NotreDame des Victoires

Old Lower Town and funicular

Rue du Petit Champlain

Art Decco Palais Montcalm

Art for sale in Quebec City

Le Chateau Frontenac

Basilica Notre Dame de Quebec

View from the city walls

On the Walls of Quebec City

View of the Hotel du Parlement

Hotel du Parlement

Hotel du Parlement front door

Martello Tower 2

Martello Tower 1 in Battlefield Park

Battlefields Park

Battlefields Park and Martello Tower

A maple tree

Musee National des Beaux Arts du Quebec

A sculpture behind the Musee National des Beaux Arts du Quebec

View of Quebec City from Ile d’ Orleans

Above Old Lower Town

Eating Poutine

See the whole photo set of Quebec City on Flickr.

By Isabel Eva Bohrer

Ireland is a land of castles. While there are some places where you will have to shell out quite some money to be able to stay the night, others open their doors to everyone for a touristic visit. Here is a selection of five castles worth visiting on your next trip to Ireland:

 Bunratty Castle

The construction of Bunratty Castle dates back to 1425, and it was restored to its medieval splendor in 1954. It is known for being the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland. On your visit, you will see 15^th and 16^th century furniture, tapestries and other art works of the times. Today, the castle grounds moreover include a folk park that spreads out at the foot of the massive walls. Note that the Castle closes each day at 4 p.m. to prepare for the Medieval Banquet. For more information on planning your visit, click here.

Blarney Castle

Located in County Cork, Blarney Castle is notorious for the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that this stone bestows the gift of eloquence and Irish charm. Tourists have been trekking to the Castle for years to kiss the blarney stone.

The Castle itself was constructed around 1446 for the MacCarthy Chieftains of Munster. However, it is believed that a settlement was established here in this area already in the 10^th century. The Castle grounds come with spectacular gardens, including the Druids Altar, the Witches Kitchen and the Wishing Stairs. To plan your very own visit (and kiss) click here.

Ballygally Castle

In “The World’s Most Haunted Places,” Jeff Belanger describes Ballygally Castle as “a living postcard—a charming, almost teal-colored Scottish baronial castle overlooking the sea in Northern Ireland.” Located in the village of Ballygally in Northern Ireland, the Castle is known to be one of the most haunted places in the province.

The castle overlooks the Ballygally Bay. Most recently, it has been converted into a hotel. In fact, it is the only 17^th century building still used as a residence in Northern Ireland. If you want to see ghosts, this is the place to go.

Ashford Castle

A rear shot of the oldest part of the Ashford Castle which is near Cong, Ireland in County Mayo. By jmenard48.

Another castle turned hotel. Ashford dates back to the 13^th century, and to be quite honest, it is difficult to capture the property in words. The following video provides a pretty good 360 degree overview. The entire history of the estate is also traced here. A highlight to consider doing on your visit: falconry. In addition to fishing, golf and just taking a walk on the spectacular grounds. Be sure to take a map – it is so big you might get lost!

Dromoland Castle

The best of the best. Dromoland Castle, like Ashford Castle, is hard to describe in words; this selection of videos will provide a better overview.

Isabel Eva Bohrer is a freelance writer, editor, photographer, and translator currently based in Madrid, Spain. She has lived, studied, worked, and volunteered in over twenty countries on five different continents. Equally enthralled by the close-by as the distant, she aspires to share her adventures and advice through eloquent writing alongside eye-catching images. Visit her website at www.isabelevabohrer.com

When I posted my Vientiane images to my Flickr album, my father commented to me by email that “Vientiane was often in the news in my college days, but there were never pictures.” Well, Dad, here are some pictures. None are spectacular, but my point is to give you some visuals so you have a sense of what the city is like.

If I had to chose one word to distinguish Vientiane from other world capitals, I would say: quiet. There’s very little traffic and not much in general happens there. It lacks the hustle, bustle, and motorbike buzz of nearby capitals Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. And besides the Arch de Triomphe-like Patouxai, the architecture is not all that captivating. This is mostly due to the fact that the city has been razed several times by the Burmese, Chinese, and most completely by the Siamese in 1828, when the whole of the city was flattened.

When the French had arrived in 1867, what once was Vientiane was nearly reclaimed by jungle. Today, the few crumbling colonial building that remain were constructed by the French from 1899 to 1945 when they rebuilt the city and laid out a system of roads.

Text and photos by Stephen Bugno

Stephen has just returned from three months in southeast Asia. Check out his blog: Bohemian Traveler.

Submit your photo of the week to be featured at GoMad Nomad with a link back to your blog!  Send a photo with a paragraph or two describing the photo or your experience to gomadnomadtravelmag [@] gmail.com

That Luang, Laos’ most important religious site

Lane Xang Avenue, Vientiane’s Champs Elysees

At Vientiane’s night market

Monk’s laundry

Grilled frogs at the Vientiane night market

No visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is complete without visiting the Skybridge of the Petronas Towers. When the towers were completed in 1998, they were the tallest buildings in the world at 451 meters, holding that title until 2004 saw the completion of Taipei 101 reach a height of 509 meters. Malaysia was understandably proud at this engineering triumph and the twin towers remain a symbolic achievement of Malaysia entering the  modern global economy.

If you arrive at the towers early in the morning you can get one of the few allotted tickets for each day to ride the elevator to the Skybridge on the 41^st floor. The two-story bridge is 170 meters off the ground and spans the 58 meters between the towers. The bridge is not attached to the structures, but is instead designed to slide in and out of the towers to prevent it from breaking during high winds.

Under the towers is the Suria KLCC Mall which features mostly high-end retailers. It also includes an art gallery, a philharmonic theater, an underwater aquarium and a science center. Encompassing 17 acres below the buildings is KLCC park with walking paths, fountains, wading pools, and a gigantic children’s playground.

The Petronas Towers remain the world’s tallest twin buildings.

Text and photos by Stephen Bugno

Submit your photo of the week to be featured at GoMad Nomad with a link back to your blog!  Send a photo with a paragraph or two describing the photo or your experience to gomadnomadtravelmag [@] gmail.com

By Nelya Rakhimova

The Kremlin in Tobolsk, Russia

Tobolsk is an average Russian town located in the middle of the western Siberian plain. It used to be the capital of the whole of Siberia until the 20^th century when the Trans-Siberian railway was built just south of here, when Tolbolsk reverted to being a small provincial town. Nevertheless, Tobolsk remains an historic capital of Siberia and one of the most beautiful cities for those interested in Russian architecture of the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Architecture here has a particular style that you cannot find in the European part of Russia.

I spent my childhood in Tobolsk and I am used to the cold Siberian winters with lots of snow. White-stone historical buildings look even better during this time of year, adding a magical lightness to the massive structures. I don’t live in Tobolsk anymore but I had a chance to walk around just before Orthodox Christmas and took some pictures to remember how my town looks during the winter.

Tobolsk, as any settlement, has changed over the years and looks totally different than it did when I was young. Now you can find three distinct districts that were formed during different periods: the modern town with boring Soviet architecture of apartment blocks; the historic center, where there is dynamic reconstruction activity; and the old district that was neglected during the Soviet period because of frequent flooding and a damaged drainage system.

Tobolsk’s three districts

The modern town does not attract many tourists because it has a typical modern Soviet development zone with straight blocks and wide roads. There is everything that is usual for such kind of town: blocks of flats, schools and colleges, a shopping center and restaurants, hospitals, etc. There are not many recreational places there. But during the winter an ice fortress is usually built with slides of different sizes where people of all ages can enjoy real Russian wintertime amusement. Other people prefer to go to the historical center to get a view of the Irtysh–one of the biggest Siberian rivers.

Winter in the new town of Tobolsk, Russia

The historical center is concentrated around the stone Kremlin—the elaborate fortress which sits spectacularly on the high river bank. It used to be the center of Tobolsk. It’s composed of white walls and towers with an ensemble of churches and palatial buildings.

The Kremlin was declared a national historical and architectural treasure in 1870; however, during Soviet times it was used for different purposes. One of the most beautiful buildings of the Kremlin is the bell tower which is also the highest structure. It was not used during the Soviet era; I remember that it was a big deal for the whole town when bells were placed back and we heard the first ringing after so many years of silence.

The Monastery of St.John in the outskirts of the Tobolsk, Russia

In the end of the 20^th century it became a third headquarters for the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) after Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. Now the whole area of the Kremlin is under the ROC’s control; nevertheless it is still open for people to visit, especially during religious holidays.

The last part of the town is located on the low river bank and is not in good condition. It was the living area of the former Siberian capital with many beautiful churches and wooden houses. After the revolution of 1917 the last Russian tsar, Nicolas II was kept there with his family. They stayed in Tobolsk about nine months just before being moved to Yekaterinburg where they were executed in July 1918. The building where they lived is still there with a small chapel where the whole family used to pray every day.

Burned houses and church under construction in old town Tobolsk, Russia

In the 1920’s, the drainage system that spared the town from massive flooding was destroyed and the whole area fell into decay. Now you can see many burned-out houses and neglected buildings. Some areas are still occupied with people who did not want or did not have the opportunity to move to the new town. It looks like a typical Russian village with animals and small vegetable gardens.

Among them you can still see domes of abandoned churches. Some of them were used as storehouses, some were just destroyed. One church, where Mendeleev, the famous Russian chemist who created the periodic table, was baptized, was blown up in the early 1930’s. The monastery that was located in the middle of this part of town was redeveloped into a small factory that is not in operation anymore. During the winter it looks really depressing here, however last year’s city government tried to pay more attention to this area and started some redevelopment projects.

Holy Cross Church

My favorite church, Holy Cross Church (Крестовоздвиженская церковь), is located close to the river in the southwestern part of old town. It was built in 1781. In the 20^th century it was neglected and flooded several times. It is a unique church because it combines different styles of architecture and the interior is not typical for a Russian Orthodox church.

Holy Cross Church in Tobolsk, Russia

I was lucky to see it when I was a teenager and it was possible to go inside all these churches because nobody cared about them. In most of them, all of the insides were destroyed, but Holy Cross Church was the lucky one because stairs to the second floor were totally blocked with crumbled walls and nobody could go there. But if you climb up the bell tower and then walk along the roof, through small windows it is possible to see the unique inner decoration.

There is a famous legend about the church that in the 1930’s people from the Soviet government tried to tear a cross off from the bell tower several times. But it never fell; they only bent it. Then a man climbed to the dome to try one more time and he fell down and died. After this they stopped trying. Now you can still see the bent cross on top of the bell tower. The church was surrounded by a fence the last few years because of its supposed reconstruction; but it’s not possible to see it closely.

View of Irtysh River, frozen, near Tobolsk, Russia

Outside the town there are two monasteries that now are also under control of the ROC. They were nearly rebuilt by monks during the last couple decades. Usually visitors are not allowed to go there, however it is still possible to enjoy the spirit of the impressive structures from outside.

Tourism in Tobolsk

Tobolsk has recently become more popular among international tourists during the summer. However, being situated just off the Trans-Siberian railroad, it still does not get the proper attention from visitors that it deserves. The Russian government promised to invest more to promote the Siberian pearl—then name formerly given to  Tobolsk because of its historical and architectural treasures. However, now more and more people are leaving town because of its ceaseless economical decline. Hopefully in the future Tobolsk will become the tourist capital of Siberia.

If you go

Tobolsk is located 250 km (155 miles) from Tyumen, the capital of Tyumen region, which is located on Trans-Siberian road and has an international airport. You can take the bus from the interurban bus station; the trip lasts about four hours. There are several kinds of trains that go to Tobolsk from Tyumen. The best option is the train that goes once per day without additional stops. It is cheaper than the bus and it takes the same four hours. Because of the economic decline, the crime level in town has been growing during last few years; that is why you need to be careful during the evenings and nights. In general, people in Tobolsk are friendly and open as people from any of the Russian provinces.

Nelya Rakhimova grew up in the town of Tobolsk, Russia, and moved to Tyumen when she was 15. She has spent the last few years traveling and studying in various countries and is now pursuing a master’s degree in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. This is her first feature for GoMad Nomad.

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This is the throne hall of Changdeok Palace. The immense room, known as Injeong-jeon or Hall of the Benevolent Government, was used for holding formal functions of the state. It stands out among the other elegant architecture of Changdeok Palace. The palace, located in a hilly section north of dowtown Seoul, was a favorite residence of Korean royalty. Although destroyed during the Japanese invasion of 1592-98, it was rebuilt immediately after, remaining the primary residence until Gyeongbok Palace was rebuilt in the 19th century.

I visited the palace on a recent stop in Seoul after teaching English on Jeju Island. Below are some other photos from inside of the Changdeok Palace compound.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Submit your photo of the week to be featured at GoMad Nomad with a link back to your blog!  Send a photo with a paragraph or two describing the photo or your experience to gomadnomadtravelmag [@] gmail.com

Inside Injeong-jeon, the throne hall of Changdeok Palace in Seoul, South Korea

Huijeong-dang, the private living quarters of the king and queen at Changdeok Palace in Seoul, South Korea

Branches of the 400 year-old Chinese scholar trees of Changdeok Palace, Seoul, South Korea

Buildings at the Changdeok Palace in Seoul, South Korea

This futuristic set of buildings is Valencia, Spain’s stunning Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, or City of Arts and Sciences. Designed by local architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela, the project symbolizes the city government’s vision to establish itself as a principal tourist destination.

On the left is the Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts, the opera house which opened in 2005. To the right front of that is Hemisfèric, an Imax Cinema and Planetarium.

Text and photo by Stephen Bugno

Submit your photo of the week to be featured at GoMad Nomad with a link back to your blog!  Send a photo with a paragraph or two describing the photo or your experience to gomadnomadtravelmag [@] gmail.com