Islands, Tigers & Tea
Editor’s note: This post will continue to evolve as I do.
Welcome aboard travelers, the next flight on our Around the World journey has officially arrived. For those just joining, this series explores every country, six (sometimes seven) at a time, not in depth, but in spirit. Each post offers a glimpse of names, places, flags, and stories, to help us all better recognize the world we live in, one region at a time.
This week’s stop, “Islands, Tigers, & Tea,” takes us through lands rich in color, rhythm, and resilience. From South Korea’s sleek innovation to Sri Lanka’s island serenity, Syria’s timeless roots to Taiwan’s creative pulse, and through Tajikistan’s rugged mountains, Thailand’s golden temples, and Timor-Leste’s rising hope, each nation invites us to see how beauty can grow even through challenge, and how culture, like tea, deepens with time.
So, fasten your seatbelt and open your senses. Today’s journey winds through mountains and markets, rituals and rainforests where tradition and transformation steep together into something unforgettable.
SOUTH KOREA
Official name: Republic of Korea (ROK)
Pronunciation: swoth kr-ee-uh
Capital: Seoul
Official language: Korean
Location: Easterm Asia in the Northern Hemisphere
Surrounding countries: North Korea
Climate: Dy winter, humid continental
Most known for: Pop culture, such as K-pop, K-dramas
Fun fact: Writing a persons name in red ink is considered very disrespectful and is believed to wish them bad luck
Recent news article: Will update at a later time
My knowledge: I’m familiar with South Korea
SRI LANKA
Official name: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Pronunciation: sree-lan-kuh
Capital: Sri Jayawardenep Kotte (Legislative Capital) and Colombo (Executive and Judicial Capital)
Official language: Sinhala and Tamil
Location: Island country located in South Asia in the Northern Hemisphere
Surrounding countries: Near India
Climate: Hot, tropical
Most known for: Golden beaches
Fun fact: First country in the world to elect a female as head of state
Recent news article: Will update at a later time
My knowledge: Familiar with Sri Lanka
SYRIA
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TAIWAN
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TAJIKISTAN
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THAILAND
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TIMOR-LESTE
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From Sri Lanka’s tea hills to Thailand’s golden glow, and Tajikistan’s rugged trails to South Korea’s luminous skylines, this journey reminded me that culture isn’t just seen, it’s felt. It lingers like the aftertaste of tea: subtle, layered, and lasting. These seven nations carry both strength and softness. Places rebuilt through rhythm, faith, and the everyday art of living.
If travel teaches us anything, it’s this: The world is both fragile and fierce, and understanding it starts with slowing down enough to notice. Not every moment needs to be captured. Some are meant to steep quietly until their meaning reveals itself.
As the Around the World journey continues, I hope “Islands, Tigers, & Tea” inspires you to look for harmony, between motion and stillness, discovery and reflection, modern life and timeless tradition.
I’d love to hear from you: Have you ever visited or dreamed of one of these countries? What memory or story stayed with you? Read Islands, Tigers, & Tea now, and come travel a little slower with me.
As a signature of my blog, I’d like to end this post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness.” There’s no time like the present to Inspire Those Who Inspire You. Acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, can have a direct, positive impact on someone else. Go out there today and change someone’s life for the better!
***These are my personal opinions and may not be those of my employer.***
