Travels to China

The trip was amazing. I learned a lot and met a lot of great people. The lifestyle and culture are a bit different compared to the United States, especially in mainland China. 

The people are generally pushy, impatient, rude, spit in the streets, do not believe in lines, and are horrendous drivers. Also, the children are equipped with "split pants" which allow them to pee and poop on the street...no diapers. This is called potty training. 

I ate a lot of different foods: chicken feet, beef stomach, pork dumplings, steamed pork buns, noodles/rice, cocunut/tapioca milk, steamed veggies, baby fish, duck heart, scorpion, ostrich, and fungus...among other things. 

Gas is about $8-9 dollars/gallon in Hong Kong and $2-3 dollars/gallon in mainland China. The currency rate is 7.5 Hong Kong dollars for each $1 and 7 RMB for each $1. 

I was able to pick up a little bit of the local languages but I am not very good. 

I have so many stories and details that I couldn't include in this blog, but enjoy...

Hong Kong (Day 1 - Day 4):

- Harbour Plaza Metropolis Hotel

- Sky Palace

- Repulse Bay beach

- Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district (Nathan Road/Temple Street)

- Laser Light Show

- Jumbo Floating Restaurant

- Financial District (HSBC building)

- SOGO shopping district

- PolyTechnic University of Hong Kong

- Ngong Pong 360 tram ride to Tian Tan Buddha ("Giant Buddha")

Train Ride to Shanghai (19 hours)

Shanghai (Day 5 - Day 8):

- Holiday Inn Downtown

- Bund (riverfront to Hungpu River)

- "Pearl of the East" river cruise

- Pudong (downtown Shanghai)

- Oriental Pearl TV Tower

- Silk Factory

- Old Shanghai Road

- Yuyuan Garden

- Shanghai Museum

- Bullet Train to Suzhou

- Tour of businesses: Coca-Cola, Valmont

- Dinner at New Heights (3 on Bund)

Plane to Beijing

Beijing (Day 9 - Day 14):

- Peking Duck Dinner

- Tour of businesses: Lenovo, Z-Park software park, Khaki Creative Design, Gallup, US Chamber of Commerce

- Drinks with some ex-pat's that we met from Khaki Creative and a local Tea house at a bar in the Hutongs

- Hot Pot lunch (Chinese Fondue)

- Tour of Hutongs

- Tiananmen Square

- Forbidden City

- Temple of Heaven

- Pearl Market

- Beijing Night Market (I ate scorpion!!)

- Silk Market

- Dinner at Kro's Nest

- Great Wall of China (Purdue marching band performed)

- Summer Palace

- Antique Flea Market

- Dinner at Hooters Beijing

- Lunch at Divine Kitchen

Depart for O'Hare (left Beijing on 6/1 at 4pm and arrived in O'Hare on 6/1 at 4pm...weird time travel)

Check out a few of my PHOTOS!

Finally--Celia and I live in the same state!!

On the almost exact 10 year anniversary of high school graduation when Celia and I parted ways, she arrived in CA on saturday to her new home, Monterey.  I helped her explore her new surroundings in a nonstop weekend of fun...

Horseback riding at the infamous Pebble Beach (where the golf course is and the scenic 17 mile drive)

Then a little wine tasting at one of the shops in Carmel--here we are pretending we know what we're talking about :)
And then a spontaneous decision to attend the local outdoor performance of Camelot after seeing a sign for it on our way home.  It was a little chilly after the sun went down, but we sat close to the fire and got some hot chocolate to stay warm!

The next day we shared a bowl of clam chowder at Monterey's fisherman's wharf for lunch...mmmm.  I can't believe Celia's actually here!!--but it began to sink in when we went grocery shopping for her, checked out her new school, and "camped" at her new apartment--her movers don't come until Wednesday, so she didn't have any of her stuff yet.  Her new place is in a great location (1/2 block from the ocean!, a mile from downtown Monterey, and a block from her school...and 1.5 hrs from my place, which is the important part!)

AND...i survived the 2.5 weeks without John!...I'm on my way to pick him up from the airport now...look for a post soon with some pics from China!