China

So, China doesn't allow Blogspot, and thats why I haven't been updating my blog recently, but I'm now in Bangkok (briefly) on my way to India and finally have access again! Here's what I have been doing for the past few weeks.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities, and for this trip I was there for a full week! Unfortunately for most of the week it was rainy and not great for sightseeing. For the first few days, Jen and Ian were still with me and we were able to celebrate Jen's birthday in Hong Kong at a good restaurant that one of our counselors recommended. I had Peking Duck fajitas which were awesome! The counselor that recommended this place called the restaurant after we arrived and told them it was Jen's birthday so they brought out a piece of cheesecake for her, it was great!

I did get out a bit on the weekend to meet with a few alumni, but overall the "free time" in Hong Kong was a bust. My last night in Hong Kong, Signal 8 was raised, meaning that a typhoon was passing very close to Hong Kong. It was an interesting evening and when I woke up it was just as windy and rainy as when I went to bed. So naturally I spent 7 hours in the airport as my flight was delayed over and over again. I was able to take some pictures but not enough.

Shanghai

By the time I made it to Shanghai it was late Tuesday night, which didn't leave much time for sightseeing. I was really excited to visit Shanghai this time because I chose a hotel near YuYuan Gardens and market, which is a great place to buy trinkets and jewelry (especially pearls).



After my visits on Wednesday I was able to get some time (just one hour) to do some shopping in the market and walk around the gardens. I was able to get all my shopping done and save a lot of money!

Over all I didn't have much time to explore Shanghai but I did get time to explore the market right around me which was all I was hoping to do.

Hangzhou

On Friday I took the train to Hangzhou, a city about 2 hours south of Shanghai, and one that I have not been to yet. This city is well known for West Lake. I have heard rumors that this is the most beautiful city in China, The Emperor used to visit here, and this city has the most beautful women. I won't comment on the last point but West lake is a beautiful location and my hotel was right along the water so it was a great view! I was able to get some pictures of the area which were nice, but on walking back to the hotel I was stopped by an old Chinese man who talked to me for about 10 minutes telling me stories about the lake and, telling me about his past (going to Church University and travelling and living in San Francisco). It was a cool experience to talk with one of the locals. Unfortunately right after this it was time to head to the airport for Beijing.

Beijing

I was amazed at how clean Beijing was this time! I read in the news when I arrived that the Chinese government has promised to curb its carbon emissions over the next few years and the difference was staggering. Before the Olympics pollution was awful in Beijing, it would hurt your eyes and lungs and you couldn't see that far. During the Olympics, the city prohibited any more contruction until after the games so that the pollution would clear up and the city was beautiful, but when I visited last fall right after the Olympics and again this spring the pollution was back and as bad as ever. I was amazed to see bright blue skies when I arrived and it stayed clear the entire time I was in Beijing. Sadly thats the only thing I can tell you about Beijing, nothing else really happened during my stay, I didn't get time to explore and by days were so packed with visits that all I wanted to do was to rest when I arrived back from the visits at night. I couldn't even go on Facebook or Blogspot to stay in touch with people! Ah well, off to Bangkok on Wednesday.