The Past Two Weekends...

Wow!  Sorry it has been so long since my last update.  Time here in Shanghai has really flown by, and it is hard to find the time to record all of my adventures.  However, my mom reminded me that I need to blog so that, when I am her age, I can remember everything-- quite a valid point!  So, here goes nothing.

Last Thursday, the 28th of June, eight of my friends and I headed out on a flight to Hong Kong from Shanghai's Pudong International Airport.  The remaining time we had after arriving in the city was spent settling in to our hotel rooms and getting ready for the next day.  On Friday, we woke up early, ate breakfast at a cafe near our hotel, and traveled via cable car to Ngong Ping, an island that is a popular tourist attraction.  We hiked to the peak of a mountain on Ngong Ping in the midday heat, and at the top we found ourselves at the feet of a humongous golden Buddha.  It was quite the site to see.  After taking cable cars back into town and grabbing lunch, we then took an incline tram to Victoria's Peak, which offered a break-taking view of the city.  It was on the peak that I realized just how much I loved Hong Kong.  It was a perfect blend of eastern influence, western style, and modern technology.  After the peak we headed across the river via a ferry, hoping to see the synchronized light show that the city's skyscrapers put on nightly.  However, bad weather moved in just in time for the show and it was canceled.  It is on my list for next time...  Saturday, my friends and I took a ferry to Macau!  Having heard of Macau's reputation as a haven for gamblers and drunks, the Portuguese island nation did not let me down.  Throughout the day and into the night, I lost the equivalent of USD 12.90... not too shabby compared to some of my comrades, but I won't call them out here :).  Sunday was my favorite day in the city, however.  Having gotten in late from Macau the previous night, we slept in and casually made our way over to the Ladies Market, a world-famous street market where you can find.... anything.  It was here at the market that I got a taste of a new favorite food of mine: Dim sum.  These fried bits of heaven will forever remain a highlight of the trip for me.  But not just this-- all of the food that we purchased from street vendors were to die for and dirt cheap!  I was so pleased.  We unfortunately had to leave the market sooner than any of us would have liked in order to catch our flight (which ended up getting delayed anyways -___-).  But, again, there will be a next time for me and Hong Kong.  Only a matter of when....

Now, this past weekend a small group of my friends and I (there were five of us) strapped on our adventurous traveler's boots once again and headed even further south for Bangkok, Thailand!  It is worth mentioning, however, that, while still in Shanghai, my friend Alec and I woke up and departed early in order to ride the Maglev train to the airport.  It runs at max speed only from 9-10:45 in the morning, but hurling by the city at 430+ km/hr, one of the fastest commercial land speeds in the world, I am told, was well worth any inconvenience!!  After a day of traveling, we finally arrived in Bangkok and settled in to our hotel.  The next morning, my friend/roommate Jonathan's native friend Nita came and met us at our hotel with her family's driver.  Nita and her mother devoted their entire weekend towards showing us the city, and I could not be any more thankful!!  We traveled to:
- Bang Pa-In Palace with its beautiful grounds and traditional architecture.
- Numerous temples, which gave us the opportunity to witness many religious rituals and prayers
- A venue where we RODE ON TOP OF ELEPHANTS!  A very cool destination, indeed!  It was so much fun feeding and interacting with these brilliant animals.  Furthermore, while we were standing around with the animals, I looked over and saw two men carrying large bags on their back.  Nothing special, until I looked down and saw that one of them was holding a clue from the Amazing Race!! I ran over to them and they informed me that they were indeed, contestants on the French Amazing Race.  This team kindly let us capture a picture with them before they ran off to their next challenge.  We watched over the course of the next few minutes as teams arrived in taxis, ran and attained a clue, and headed back out.  Quite exciting!!!
- Some of the best dining I have had in my summer here in Asia.  My favorite:  Green curry with fish balls.  Undoubtedly the spiciest dish I have ever consumed in my life; I was sweating bullets, breathing heavy, and feeling the pain of my entire face burning.  But it was so spectacularly good I couldn't stop!!!!!
- Pattaya, a city on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, where we strolled along the beach and did a little shopping in some markets.
- A night market that... provided quite an insight into the culture dynamic of the Bangkok nightlife!  Definitely an interesting experience, and I was able to attain some good souvenirs so that I can remember my travels.

And just like that, our weekend was over.  We headed out Sunday morning, exhausted and bloated from an awesome weekend of eating, exploring, and learning about this exotic nation.  I could not be any happier with how Bangkok went, and, again, this is all thanks to the hospitality shown by Nita and her family.

I am so happy with how these past weekends have gone!! I have been fortunate enough to be able to steal some of my friend Alec's pictures that he has taken from the weekends that I was without camera.  So look to Facebook for those!  As always, thanks for reading everyone!

Beijing, Xi'an, and SHANGHAI!

Hello everyone!  Sorry for the belated update; I have had quite the adventurous week with lots of happenings to inform you about!

Let me begin with last Friday (6/15).  My group and I departed from Tianjin on the 8AM train to Beijing.  We wasted no time and hopped on the metro to head to the Olympic sites that we wanted to tour: the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube!  It was when we arrived at the Olympic Park area that I discovered some disappointing news:  My camera seems to have died on me.  At this point I was unsure if the battery had just died, but I was pretty sure that wasn't it because I had charged it the night before.  It has suffered no exposure to water of any kind, nor had I dropped it.  Needless to say, I was at a loss for an explanation, but resolved to pack my camera away for the rest of the weekend.  So, I am sorry to share with all of you that the remainder of my weekend went undocumented on my end; the good news is that I have plenty of friends who took some super awesome pictures!

The Bird's Nest and the Water Cube was, to be frank, not exactly everything that I thought it would be.  Yes, it was awesome to be in the same stadium that houses the memorable opening ceremonies, and yes, it was crazy to stand in the same building that Michael Phelps broke countless world records.  But on the other hand:  After being transformed into a park during the winter, and then a Segway obstacle course, the Bird's Nest is now undergoing construction to become a shopping center.  ... Yeah.  So while Atlanta managed to put the Georgia Dome to great use, it seems that Beijing has not been quite as successful.  Meanwhile, the Water Cube housed a pool that was completely drained and undergoing construction-- what exactly was happening I could not gather.  The other half of the Water Cube has been transformed into a recreational indoor water park, which actually looked pretty cool from the glimpses that I got.  Regardless, at the end of the day, I am happy that I went just to say that I did it and saw inside some of the historic Olympic sites in Beijing!!

The remainder of our Friday was devoted to wandering through and buying up the Silk Market.  If you recall from my previous post, the Silk Market is the number one shopping destination for foreigners in Beijing.  I would recommend the experience to anyone who happens to find themselves in Beijing, as walking the aisle of the Silk Market is unlike anything I have ever done before!  The day that we went was particularly interesting; the police inspector stopped by.  Turns out this is a pretty big deal.  It all started when I was having a back-and-forth bargaining session with an employee.  She, out of no where, grabs my wrist and yanks me into her booth and instructs me not to speak until she tells me so.  When I asked her what was going on, she told me that "A big bad man is coming."  Needless to say, I was utterly confused.  The woman would not answer any more of my inquiries.  After we finished the rest of our transaction in hushed whispers, she quickly ushered me out of her booth and into the masses of the market.  The rest of my afternoon was devoted towards getting to the truth of the situation, and I managed to gather insight bit by bit from employees.  It was no news to me that a huge chunk of the merchandise at the Silk Market is fake brands (Nike, North Face, Patagonia, and Polo are the brands that I recall being most prominent), but I did learn that this selling of fraudulent goods is illegal and actually enforced in China.  Every so often, the police send inspectors through the Silk Market, and any fake merchandise that is found on display is confiscated.  So, when an employee gets tipped off that the police is on the way, the news spreads like wildfire amongst the vendors.  Throughout the entire building, employees were ripping merchandise off of the walls and stuffing it into huge bags.  Every elevator was congested with flustered workers hauling these huge bags down to their cars in the employee parking.  It was quite a scene!  So for the rest of the day, many of the employees were more focused on getting their fraudulent goods out of the building than selling what they had to us shoppers.  By the time we left the market, the booths were void of any name brands.  I still managed to get a healthy amount of shopping in-- any more and I probably wouldn't have had room in my luggage this week as we traveled!

On Friday night, we caught an overnight train from Beijing to Xi'an.  The train slept four people to a room, and the arrangements were quite cozy.  Still, it was fun to travel in such a fashion, and I actually slept quite well.  We arrived in Xi'an early Friday morning and headed straight to the site of the Terracotta Army!  This sight has been on my to-see list ever since I learned I would be traveling to China, and it was an amazing experience to finally see what I had only read about!!  The sights consist of three huge pits which are enclosed in warehouses.  Much of the area is still being actively excavated, but there was still the magnificent scene I imagined of hundreds of meticulously-crafted warriors standing side by side.  After exploring the pits and excavation sites, my friends and I rented bicycles and bikes along the world’s largest city wall!  It was a spectacular view and an awesome afternoon for bike riding!  I really had a blast in spending the day Xi’an; it was all definitely worth the overnight train rides two nights in a row!

When I returned to Tianjin on Sunday morning, I made the unfortunate discovery that the problem with my camera was indeed, not a dead battery, but something much more.  On Tuesday, a TJU student and I went to a camera shop and tried replacing the battery with a new one, but to no avail.  Consequently, my Nikon is officially dead for the time being!  While I am disappointed that this happened, I am happy to have made my purchase from Costco; getting it fixed should be no problem once I return to the States.  In the meanwhile, plans are in the works for me getting another camera so that I can continue documenting my once-in-a-lifetime experiences over here!!

On Wednesday, the entire China Summer Program packed up from Tianjin (MUCH easier said than done) and headed to Shanghai via the Beijing-Shanghai Express “Bullet” Train!  The trip took almost exactly five hours; if I recall correctly, our speed was topping out at around 320 km/hr. 

Having spent a little over two days here, I can tell that I am going to LOVE Shanghai!  The city is so modernly urban and westernized that in some areas that if I didn’t see all of the Chinese characters, I might think I was walking the streets of New York City.  While I thoroughly enjoyed the traditionally-Chinese aspects of Tianjin, seeing this other half of China is going to be quite a treat.  This morning I went out and created a perfect running loop that takes me on such a varied tour of the neighborhoods of Shanghai.  If I can say so myself, I feel quite cool running through the streets of the largest city in the world! :D

Here are some pictures that I took with my iPhone during my first night in Shanghai (forgive the poor quality):

Lastly, it seems that our hotel might be wise in investing in a better English translator for their fire instructions! :D

Tomorrow I have the opportunity to travel to the home of a SJTU student and celebrate the Duan Wu, or Dragon, Festival in a traditional Chinese family fashion!  I could not be more excited for this experience; I already know that sharing in such a celebration in a real Chinese house will be so informative and enlightening.  I look forward to coming back and sharing it with you guys!  I will do my best to snap some pics on my iPhone, so long as you all forgive the poor quality!

Thanks for reading everyone!! Have a great day!

Beijing Weekend

My traveling companions have just returned from an exciting weekend exploring Beijing!

We departed from Tianjin on an 8pm train Thursday evening.  Our train covered a distance of 110 kilometers (about 70 miles, Mom) in a surprising time of under 30 minutes. Our group of twelve was split into two groups: six who had chosen to stay in a hotel and six who had opted for a youth hostel.  Longing for a Marriott mattress, I had decided on the hotel.  Walking through the doors of the Marriott: Beijing City Wall, we realized that we were in for quite a luxurious weekend.  We dined like royalty with complimentary drinks at check-in and a full-service western breakfast every morning.  These were perhaps the happiest breakfasts in my existence thus far;  I gorged myself on "delicacies" that I have missed during my time in the East: cereal (with COLD, PASTEURIZED, SKIM milk), bacon, hash browns, fresh fruit and yogurt.  The list could go on.  Fortunate to be traveling with the daughter of a Marriott employee, we stayed at this Chinese five-star hotel for a ridiculously cheap price.  Needless to say, Marriott lost money on me with the complimentary breakfasts alone.

On Friday, we toured Tienanmen Square, viewed Chairman Mao's body on display, and wandered through the Forbidden City.  It was extremely hot, but the sights and culture witnessed made the discomfort well worth it!  After a dip in the pool, we shopped through some of Beijing's markets and feasted upon Peking Duck, which, I am told, is a necessary experience for any traveler in Beijing.  After dinner, we headed over to the Olympic Park area for a stroll.  Saturday consisted of winding our way through the grounds and sights of the beautiful Summer Palace.  It was another toasty day, and a fierce thunderstorm drove us back home in the late afternoon.  The group dined at a-- get this-- Mexican restaurant that evening.  Steak fajitas and a cold margarita hit the spot!  Finally, this morning, the hotel group and I ventured over to the famous Silk Market!  I had an absolute blast wheeling and dealing with the merchants.  We were unfortunately limited by time and left prematurely to catch the 2pm train back to Tianjin.

This upcoming weekend I am heading back to Beijing on Friday morning.  On tap for Friday: touring inside the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest and giving the Silk Market the proper time that it deserves (and for me to get a more complete shopping fix).  Friday night a group of us are taking an overnight train to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Army!! We will return on a similar train Saturday evening and will arrive in Tianjin mid-Sunday.

Thanks for reading, everyone!  It's wild to think that I only have one more full week in Tianjin; the group heads to Shanghai on the 20th.  Time is flying, but I am thankful to say that I am getting to do/see more than I could have ever imagined when I signed up for this trip!

Weekend at the Wall

This past weekend I attended a hiking trip with Georgia Tech's Outdoor Recreation department along the Great Wall of China!

We awoke early Friday morning, dressed ready to hike.  Stepping out of the doors of the hotel, my fellow adventurers and I loaded into buses amidst a drenching rain.  We headed north, through and past Beijing, for about four hours.  By the time we arrived at our destination, fortunately the rain had ceased!  After a traditional Chinese lunch provided by a local restaurant, we began our hike towards a small village further along the Wall.  The hike on the first day was along a stream that wound between mountains.  The scenery was beautiful!  We arrived in the late afternoon to a small agrestic village.  A family had agreed to feed us, and boy did they feed us!  Everything that was put before us had been grown or raised within a few kilometers of where we sat!  I was quite pleased, especially after a day of hiking!  The sun set on us quickly, and we decided to call it a night shortly afterwards.  We were given a campsite just outside of the village in a pasture, and I was asleep before my head hit the sleeping bag.

Breakfast the next morning was just as wondrous as the previous dinner.  Once we had had our fill, we were given a tour of the village's garden area.  The people of the village all had plots, and they grew assorted vegetables: beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, peppers, lettuces, etc.  There was a small stream flowing through the middle of the garden, which, I am guessing, made irrigation easier for them.  The time soon came for us to depart this paradise, however.  Today my group was to hike a treacherous stretch over the Wall.  It was quite a hike, but the views were well worth the effort.  I was lucky to start some really interesting conversations with our Chinese guides about their lives, worldviews, and dreams.  The more I pry (for lack of a better word), the more the Chinese people amaze me with their frankness and openness.  Having grown up in a world entirely different than my own, it was fascinating to discover just how similar many of them were to me in terms of values and morals. After descending from the mountains into an outpost area, we were given the chance to rappel down a 50 meter dam.  It was nerve-wracking to cross over the top and let go of the ladder, but once I got going it was so much easier than I had imagined!  Dinner that night was an experience I will not soon forget; I ate donkey, chicken tongue, and fermented tofu.  The donkey tasted just like beef to me, the tongue was barely big enough to have a taste (it was mostly just chewy), and the fermented tofu was horrendous.  After a campfire that featured my singing more karaoke more than I would like to admit, we all went to bed.

We awoke on Sunday morning to a steady drizzle.  By the time we sat down for breakfast, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and we were strongly considering cutting our losses and heading back to Tianjin early.  And many of my fellow hikers did; one bus left right after lunch.  However, a few of us wanted a little more hiking along a "challenge section".  The guides that we were with refused to allow us to go on the Wall if it was wet, as the section that we were wanting to go on was dangerously slick. Soon, however, the story changed-- the rain stopped-- and we were given permission to go ahead.  We weren't even at the Wall before the rain had picked up again, however.  That is when the guides officially called it a day.  We were given the chance during one of the breaks in the rain to snap some shots on top of on of the sections, but we were forbidden from going any further.  We headed back wet and disappointed, though I was content in knowing that I had done everything I could to see as much of the Wall as I could!

Looking back, it is weird to think that I have now seen-- I have now peed off of-- the Great Wall of China!  This summer is bringing so many memorable experiences my way, and it is such an exhilarating feeling to do things that I have never dreamed of before!

Thanks for reading everyone!  This weekend I head 30 minutes north by train to BEIJING. Lots to do, and only four days fit it all in!  We'll see!

Qingdao Weekend

Whew!  What a weekend.

To start, Friday:  My program sponsored a tour of the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area and the Binahi New Area.  Boy did I learn a lot!  Because much of the land in China is state-owned, and because much of the development in China is state-driven, the Chinese government has a history of going into an area and thinking: "OK, yeah, let's build a freaking huge city here".  Unlike in America, where demand drives development, in China, the state develops and then manufactures a demand by making more state agencies that fill the space.  They did this in Shenzhen, and more recently in the Pudong district of Shanghai, and it works surprisingly well for them. 
Touring this developing area is strange, however, because there are hundreds of these huge skyscrapers that have been constructed/are being constructed simultaneously-- none of which are occupied!  It was eerily similar of how my cities developed in the Sim City computer game I played as a child. 
A recurring theme that I have noticed of China and the Chinese culture is that the Chinese state is infatuated with putting on a veneer of development/wealth.  There are towering and modern skyscrapers everywhere, and yet there a hundreds living in the slums just hundreds of yards away from the base of the buildings.  Rather than fixing its actual internal problems, China likes to "save face" by appearing luxurious and growing to the rest of the world.  Every Chinese person that I have talked to has expressed these same sentiments.  Only as the citizens of China begin to fight more and more for a stronger voice in their government (which they are) will, perhaps, the state begin to provide services tot the people that raise the standard of living here. In the meanwhile, these metropolises will continue to develop under a manufactured demand and the rest of the world will stare in awe (including me).
Indeed, they have an entire center developed to showing tourists how awesome the Binhai New Area will be once constructed.  A huge, circular room contains a scale model of all of the exorbitant plans that the Chinese government has for this area.  We even were shown a short movie about all of the awesome things that are in store for the people of China.... I felt like I was watching something from Big Brother:  "Look at how good the government is to the people of China!!"  
To read more:  TEDA Wikipedia 
Binahi New Area

We also toured a facility for the manufacturing of instant noodles.  It was an interesting look into the automated process that occurs to produce food for millions around the world.  Afterwards was lunch at a traditional Chinese seafood restaurant. The waitresses were simply infatuated with us Americans; one specifically asked if she could have a picture with me.  I can't say I wasn't flattered; I felt rather important standing in front of a group of Chinese waitresses, camera phones in hand, wanting to take a picture!  My mom insists it was because of the simple fact that I am "ridiculously good looking"... To look at it more objectively, I think the Chinese people are fascinated by people that are: tall, blonde, and have a non-brown eye color.

Early Saturday morning eleven of my friends and I took a train to Qingdao.  This was a lovely city by the beach.  I spent Saturday exploring the marketplaces and back-alleys of the city.  My two favorite Chinese phrases are:  "How much is this?" followed by "Ha! That is too expensive"  Needless to say, my bargaining skills are improving daily.  We spent in the night in a youth hostel that had once been a church-- $6 a night.  On Sunday I headed east to the beach, and had my first look at the Pacific Ocean!  There were literally hundreds of little vendors set up along the boardwalk selling all sorts of trinkets. Souvenirs galore!  After lunch we toured the Tsingtao Beer Brewery.  See pictures on Facebook for details-- it was quite an insightful tour!  It wasn't until we were all safe and sound on the train back to Tianjin that we were able to call this weekend a complete success-- I had a terrible gut feeling that we might miss the train and miss classes on Monday!!

Now I am back for my second week of classes.  Nothing much to report on that end.  Today I went on a walking tour of the historic district of Tianjin.  I spent more time discussing the Chinese people their government's outlook on development and social policy.  I am about to upload pictures from the tour to Facebook.  Because China has a history of conceding areas of land to western lands (almost always unwillingly), there is an interesting mix of architecture in this city!


This weekend I head out on a hiking trip along the Great Wall!  Look out for a post early next week for details.  Thanks for reading you guys! Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend.  Time abroad makes me realize how fortunate we are to live in a country as liberating as America!

Done with Week One!

I am officially done with my first week of classes this semester, and it feels so good!

My plans for this weekend are as follows:
- Friday: Guided walking tour of Tianjin.  I am really excited about this, as Tianjin is the largest city that in the world that I had not heard of before this trip (maybe this speaks more to my ignorance, but whatever).  Today was really clear, so I was able to see far into the distance-- and what a city I am staying in!  Literally skyscrapers as far as the eye can see!  Highlights of the tour include exploring TEDA (the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area) and a visit at an Instant Noodle Impression Museum. 

 - Saturday:  Taking a morning train to Qingdao, which is said to China's "Most Livable" city.  It is known for its German brewery and beaches, so this makes sense to me!  My friends and I will return Sunday night, after staying the night in a youth hostel.

Because classes aren't really anything to blog about, I will mostly be updating on Mondays/Tuesdays after returning from my weekend excursions.  Everything in China is so fascinating to me because of how distinct it is from the society in which I have spent the past 19 years; I can only hope to recall a portion of everything that I learn/notice with you guys here!  Everything else will have to come out in my "This one time in China..." stories when I return.  As always, thanks for reading!

My Birthday Abroad

"So it is just now 8:30 PM here and I am in bed ready to fall asleep.  As the rush of experiencing an entirely different world fades away, I find myself utterly exhausted from not only jet-lag, but also a day of classes."

This was all that I typed out before I fell asleep last night.  The process of adjusting to an entirely opposite sleep schedule is quite tricky, as my friends and I have discovered!  So I did myself a birthday favor and crawled into bed early.

Classes went smoothly yesterday; there isn't much exciting news to report on that end.  However, what is exciting is the weekends that my friends and I have in store while we were over here this summer!!

June 1 - June 3:  Hiking along and in the shadow of the Great Wall
June 7- June 10:  Long weekend exploring Beijing
June 28-July 1: Long weekend in Hong Kong and Macau

Other, slightly smaller journeys include:
- Traveling to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Army
- Seeing the Three Gorges Dam and the Yellow Mountains
- (perhaps) traveling to Yangshuo County, a famous destination for backpackers

So yeah, I have quite a summer ahead of me! Thanks for reading you guys!!