I visited Romania as a tourist, so I can’t say I know every city in detail. But I’ll share some thoughts on the places I’ve been to

Bucharest: A city where Art Deco buildings are mixed with communist-era blocks, creating a kind of chaotic vibe. The historical buildings, especially the churches, are beautiful, but the metro and airport felt pretty run-down to me

Brașov: A beautiful place surrounded by nature and historic architecture. I loved the colorful low-rise buildings, the flocks of pigeons everywhere, and the delicious food

Timișoara: A really beautiful city. What I liked most was how kind and welcoming the locals were

Sighișoara: Felt like a well-preserved medieval German town. Honestly, it looked like it could be the perfect set for a live-action Disney movie

Iași: Gave off a strong Soviet vibe. Overall, it was a small and quiet city, and I ran into a lot of stray cats while walking around

One thing I noticed while traveling in Romania was that I barely saw any East Asians. In Hungary, which is right next door, there’s a pretty big Chinese diaspora. Greece and Croatia, being major tourist destinations, have a decent number of Chinese and Korean tourists too. But in Romania, spotting another East Asian person felt like finding a shiny Pokémon

Korean cities mostly look pretty similar to those in Japan, Taiwan, China. With modernization, traditional areas have mostly been separated from the rest of the city, which is kind of a shame