Travel

posted by Alan
click on the pictures to see them full size

One of the great perks about living in China is how easy it is to travel. Most Asian countries are only a two to four hour flight away for a few hundred dollars. It's typical to hear of someone making a weekend trip to places like Bali, Thailand, Vietnam or some other exotic location that looks like the Lost island (is that show over yet??). And China itself is so huge and there are so many places within the country to see. We have a long list of places to visit and things we'd love to do just here in China alone. If you're the adventurous type, you can travel anywhere by train for under $100 USD. Daisy made her first long distance train journey back in February. I think she's ready for more.

Moganshan, China; on the train to Zhang Jia Jie; Tioman Island, Malaysia


Our only international trips thus far have been to Malaysia and back home to the US. Within the country, we've been to Hong Kong, Zhang Jia Jie, Beijing, Henan, De Hang, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuyi, Moganshan and Zhejiang. Without Daisy, I've been to Xi'an, various cities in Henan and Singapore. If you're interested in any of those places, feel free to ask. We're hoping to hit Inner Mongolia in August and the Philippines in October.

ZheJiang (we miss you Zoie!); De Hang, Henan; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


This week, we just booked two flights. In two weeks, we'll be flying to the famous cities of Guilin and Yangshuo. They are connected by the Li Jiang River, which features ridiculous looking limestone karsts jutting out of the ground. A picture of them is featured on the back of the Chinese 20 RMB bill. Take a guess as to who's face is on the front?



The other tickets we booked are to the ancient city of New York. Yup, in July we'll be visiting home again. We had planned on coming home for another Christmas visit this year, but we found out we won't be able to, so we decided to make a summer trip instead. Things worked out perfectly where we'd both be able to have the time to come. So from July 6 - 26th, we're looking forward to some BBQ, softball, Jacob's 4th birthday party, NY Pizza, Taco Bell and enjoying the NYC summer heat with you guys. We also chose this time because by then, the Mets should be in first place.


But right now, my brother Steven is probably somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on his way here for an 11 day trip to hang out with us and see how we live. I'll see if I can convince him to do a guest blog...

Picture Blog

posted by Alan
click on the pictures to see them full sized.

I’m writing this as I’m watching Game 6 of the Cavs vs. Celtics playoff series, aka, Lebron Watch. As Daisy can attest to, I love sports. If ESPN.com ever got blocked in China, I think I’d have to leave. In my travels around this world, I’ve seen that there are a few things that transcend culture and boundaries. They are love, music, art and sports. You can go anywhere in the world, get on a basketall court (or any other mutual sport) and language and cultural barriers disappear and communication, respect and understanding begin (there were way too many "and's" in that run-on sentence). Anyway, I’m pullin for Lebron here. One more quarter to go. *edit* By the time I finished this blog, game over. 27, 19 and 10 and Lebron didn't have it tonight? Wow.
coming soon?

I try to always carry my camera around with me here in Shanghai. There is always something interesting going on in this city. I often take pictures with the intention of putting them on this blog, but often forget to even post them. So, I think I’ll periodically just do a picture blog of these random photos.

Badminton and cooking afternoon with our co-workers

Fei Yue local brand hi-tops

In a country where they love Kobe and Lebron, this is brand name is genius

First BBQ of 2010 out in MinHang; Chick-Fil-A in Shanghai

Dinner night with Su and Stephanie; Daisy's birthday orchids from my mom


Response to comments:
Steven - The US pavilion is really corporate. Mainly because America didn't have enough money (yes, really) to fund it, so it's all private sponsors.
Wendy - Thanks. We're still waiting for you.
Megan - The US pavilion is definitely less spectacular, but I heard it really focuses on family values and hospitality and they do it really well. You'll have to see for yourself when you get here.
Yuan - I thought it would be crazy in a bad way here this summer, but so far, it's just crazy in a fun way.