My trip wasn't all daisies and rainbows, there were also some stinkers. I thought it would be fun to highlight those as well.

This post is the counterpart of My Top 10.

My Worst Day - Missing Tickets for the Second TWICE Concert in Macau

My worst day is probably 2025-09-28. I had flown to Macau and was supposed to attend a TWICE concert that night. I had ordered tickets from a reseller, but they hadn’t arrived in time before I left for Korea. I had been in contact with the platform in the two weeks prior asking where the tickets were, but I got no answer. That day I finally received confirmation that they were cancelled (gee, thanks!). I got my money back, but I wanted tickets.

I tried multiple different online platforms to buy one, but I kept getting errors. Eventually I gave up, got some food, and tried to go to bed early. But I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? 70 days is so long!”

I guess I was feeling bad because of all the traveling and the culture shock.

Considering this was my worst day of the trip, everything else was pretty good!

My Least Liked Food - Stinky Tofu

I tried a lot of different foods while I was in Asia. From wriggling octopus and mystery stews, to pig feet and radish cake. Most of them were delicious. But there was one dish I particularly disliked: Stinky Tofu.

They serve this at street markets in Taiwan. The smell, like dirt socks, can be experienced from five stalls away. It is fried fermented tofu. It has a very sour taste, and the texture is airy and crunchy. I got some boba tea to wash it down, which was definitely needed. I only managed to eat one of the three pieces served to me before I had to bow out.

Honorable mentions:

Kimchi Jiggae (I don’t like kimchi)
Banana Milk (somehow both the milk and banana taste artificial)
Congee (What even is that)

Checkout all the foods I ate at the Food tab.

My Least Favorite Cultural Sight - Shibuya Scramble

Shibuya Scramble is a busy intersection in the center of Tokyo. That’s just it: civil infrastructure. What made it interesting was that so many locals used it. But because of the recent spike in tourism in Japan, this zebra crossing has turned into a tourist hotspot. No sane local would still use it for their daily commute.

When I got there (on 2025-11-08), it was so busy that I had to wait three cycles just to cross it. A road intersection!

What makes it even worse are all the people rushing to the center before the lights turn green, with their video cameras ready to film themselves being engulfed in a sea of other tourists doing the exact same thing. Then they stay after the lights turn red again because they are too busy taking pictures, causing dangerous situations.

The whole magic of this location is gone. What made it interesting to me was that locals used it, now it is only tourists. It is a truly sad sight.

“My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you have made it a “den of thieves.” — Matthew 21:13

My Most Uncomfortable Experience - Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum

On 2025-11-21 I went to the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum. I had done little research beforehand, but the pictures looked interesting. It turned out to have one of the biggest Buddha statues in Asia, along with a whole museum devoted to the religion. They even claim to have a tooth of the Buddha himself.

But the vibes were just off. I got very cult-like vibes from the whole experience. The attendants were a little too friendly and hallways kept getting closed off. I left earlier than I had planned and continued with my day.

My Worst Hotel - Capsule Hotel in Tokyo

For my trip to Tokyo I chose to book a capsule hotel. I thought it would be a good experience and a good money saver, but I was wrong. I had terrible sleep and felt super uncomfortable the whole time. I eventually booked a regular hotel for the last two days just to get some proper rest. I wrote a blogpost about the experience: What it's like to stay in a Capsule Hotel in Tokyo.

My Worst Habit - Eating Too Much Convenience Store Food

In the first few days of my trip I was too much of a coward to get dinner on my own at a restaurant (혼밥). So I got convenience store food instead. It was easy and a little cheaper, but the taste pales in comparison to what you can get at a proper restaurant. I eventually conquered that fear and never looked back.

It did make for a good pick-up line though!

My Worst Public Transit Experience - The Buses in Taiwan

I had the worst luck with buses while I was in Taiwan.

In Kaohsiung I waited 30 minutes for a delayed bus, only to be driven for 15 minutes. Walking would have been faster.
I got on a bus going the wrong way in Taipei and only figured that out 20 minutes later.
I once waited 25 minutes for a bus, only to discover it was a sightseeing bus and five times the normal price.
The bus to and from Alisan was nauseating, with many sharp corners and not enough air circulation.

The metro and train were great though. No complaints there!

The Most Sucker Tax Paid - NVIDIA Gamer Festival

On 2025-10-30 I attended the NVIDIA Gamer Festival, a celebration marking 25 years of NVIDIA doing business in South Korea. There was a Taekwondo performance, an exhibition match between two StarCraft pros, and a performance by my second favorite K-pop act, LE SSERAFIM (which is mainly why I went).

They said it would start at 16:00, so I arrived on time. Only to learn that this was the start of the merch booth, and the actual performances would begin at 19:00. So I killed some time in the nearby mall and returned later.

I then had to sit through three hours of ads, giveaways, and an appearance by Jensen Huang (the CEO of NVIDIA), only to get three songs by LE SSERAFIM...

My Least Favorite Museum - Hong Kong Museum of History

On 2025-11-28 I visited the Hong Kong Museum of History. I was expecting a display of the rich history of Hong Kong and to learn more about the culture. When I arrived, I learned that half of the museum was being renovated, but there was a special exhibit on “National Security” I could attend.

The exhibition was about the pro-democracy protests that took place in 2019. But it wasn’t about their goals. It focused on how mean and unpatriotic these “thugs” were. They had a 30-minute-long video meticulously detailing all the bad things these hooligans did. When the video ended, you entered the next hall, where there was a giant Chinese flag.

The worst part was the steady stream of high schoolers visiting the museum on field trips.

The Most Stressful Day - Working Overtime

I had one sprint (six days) left to finish all the work I had agreed on with my employer. Things were looking good until Monday, when I ran into two big problems that completely derailed my timeline. I was supposed to leave for Japan on Thursday, so I had to work overtime on 2025-11-05 to make up for it.

I spent the whole day fixing things, updating my code, and revising my plans. I skipped my workout, ate lunch behind my desk, and only got up to get some dinner around 10 pm. All the good spots were already closed, so I had to settle for Burger King.

Luckily, I was able to get most of my work done and find some good compromises. I wrapped everything up before going on my final two-week vacation and had a blast!

Read Also

My Top 10