This was my first time to this country and I really didn't know what to expect. I figured being in close proximity to India that it would be similar, overwhelming, chaotic, hot, but it ended up being gorgeous and cool! As an island nation it is very tropical. There seemed to always be a light breeze. In 2009 the civil war between the government and the tamil opposition came to an end and Sri Lanka has seen a long period of peace and prosperity during which they have boosted their infrastructure and tourism. While the visits were ok, the food was wonderful. Lots of seafood, one night we were able to eat dinner on the beach. It was great to take off my sandals and let my feet sift through the sand. I highly recommend the chili crabs!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
India
I know I promised writing more, but I really didn't get any time throughout my trip to India to get on the internet! The tour I was a part of had a busy schedule. This trip to India was much better then my last. While Delhi was the same (no time to see anything other than school visits) Mumbai was a wonderful time. Due to the protests occuring in Hyderabad, our trip there was cancelled giving us an extra 2 days in Mumbai. With a day off I took advantage of visiting the Elephanta Island caves. Elephanta is an island about an hour off the coast of mumbai where centuries ago, a local king had a temple to Shiva created out of the rock hill. Intricate carvings of the god Shiva were carved out of the stone a massive undertaking but a beautiful place to visit if you ever have the chance. The video below shows the trip from the Gateway of India, constructed for the arrival of King George V during his first visit to India. The gateway is across from the famous Taj Hotel, a beautiful hotel which unfortunately was the target of the terrorist attacks a few years back. As you get to the island you will see the abundance of monkeys were are quite a nuisance. I watched as a monkey stole a bottle of pepsi from a kids hands and peanuts from someone else. They can be quite aggresive! The temple itself is shown near the end, the main figure in each carving is the god Shiva the preserver. Shiva is one of the 3 main gods who are manifestations of the one god that Hindus believe in. The three include Brahman the creater, Vishnu the destroyer and Shiva the preserver. In total there are over 3 million gods in the Hindu religion, however one you learn about the religion you realize there really is only one god they believe in and millions of manifestations of that god depicted in the hindu stories. Hinduism is a fascinating religion and the stories that go with it are just as interesting.
After a bit of shopping around Colaba we were off to Madurai to visit Kodaikanal International School. A very good school on top of a mountain which takes 4 hours to get to from the city we stay in but well worth it. Check back shortly for another post on my trip to Sri Lanka!
After a bit of shopping around Colaba we were off to Madurai to visit Kodaikanal International School. A very good school on top of a mountain which takes 4 hours to get to from the city we stay in but well worth it. Check back shortly for another post on my trip to Sri Lanka!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Bangladesh
So I wasn't too good at keeping up with my blog on my previous trip but I will do better this time. I'm once again in Asia this time in South Asia visiting Dhaka, Bangladesh, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Madurai and Chennai India, Colombo Sri Lanka, Bangkok and Chiang Mai Thailand, Ho Chi Minh Vietnam and Jakarta Indonesia.
I have just arrived in Dhaka for my first stop. This is my first time to Bangladesh and its turning out to be quite similar to India! Bangladesh is a very small country but also one of the most densely populated in the world. Dhaka is very similar to Indian cities, lots of traffic, overwhelming upon arrival. The city is very spread out and there are hardly any buildings taller than 10 stories. During the monsoon season Bangladesh is one of the hardest hit countries, with annual flooding and cyclone impacts. Poverty is also very visable with many beggars approaching your car or following you on the street. It is a vastly different experience than east Asia.
We will be in Dhaka for 2 days before heading on to Delhi, tomorrow we will be visiting two different schools and hopefully have some time to go out to dinner in the evening. It hasn't been as hot as I was anticipating which is really nice as last time I was in south Asia the heat and humidity was unbearable. I'll write again once we get to India.
I have just arrived in Dhaka for my first stop. This is my first time to Bangladesh and its turning out to be quite similar to India! Bangladesh is a very small country but also one of the most densely populated in the world. Dhaka is very similar to Indian cities, lots of traffic, overwhelming upon arrival. The city is very spread out and there are hardly any buildings taller than 10 stories. During the monsoon season Bangladesh is one of the hardest hit countries, with annual flooding and cyclone impacts. Poverty is also very visable with many beggars approaching your car or following you on the street. It is a vastly different experience than east Asia.
We will be in Dhaka for 2 days before heading on to Delhi, tomorrow we will be visiting two different schools and hopefully have some time to go out to dinner in the evening. It hasn't been as hot as I was anticipating which is really nice as last time I was in south Asia the heat and humidity was unbearable. I'll write again once we get to India.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Phoenix Flyer returns
Well, its been a long time since my last post. As a matter of fact the last post I did was in Manila and I will be there shortly! I'm back in Asia for another exciting recruitment season. Trip 1 this year consists of Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo and Manila. I have already been through Singapore and Seoul and on to Tokyo (sushi here I come!). This trip is a short one, only two weeks and to designations I have been to a half dozen times, but all the same, its still exciting. I am traveling with some old and new friends from liberal arts colleges throughout the U.S. The weather has been fabulous, I hope it holds!
My vow to you is to post more consistently this year. Starting tomorrow in Tokyo.
My vow to you is to post more consistently this year. Starting tomorrow in Tokyo.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Manila, Philippines
Its long overdue but I wanted to update everyone on my first trip to the Philippines. For the past few trips everyone has been telling me I have to get to Manila and finally the opportunity has come and I am so grateful. Never having been in the Philippines I didn't know what to expect, but I was amazed with the friendliness of the people and the beauty of the country. Metro Manila is made up of 13 cities, which combined is what people think of when they think Manila. While in the country we visited, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Binan, Brentwood, Makati and Manila. More than any other place I have been to the counselors at schools in Manila are here to stay. Unlike other cities the counselors describe Manila as maybe not a fun place to visit but a wonderful place to live. While I disagree with the first statement the second one is obvious as most of the counselors and teachers at the schools visited have been here 8, 10, or 38 years! While there might not be a lot of cultural or historical things to do in Manila, the city is a wonderful place to explore. One of the most shocking things about the city to me was that everyone spoke English! I mean everyone from the hotel staff to the taxi drivers, police officers and beggars. I have never been in a country like this where english is more widely spoken without being the official language. This added to the ease of travel and the stress of explaining directions. While Manila may not have many cultural opportunities we were still able to have fun! On day one we were asked by one of the counselors at our first school visit to participate in a full 90 minute, 11 on 11 soccer match against the varsity team. Being an international school the teams don't play too many matches against other schools and to start out they work up their skill and training by playing an aging staff team (which I was thoroughly a part of). While it was literally breath-taking it was also a lot of fun.
Finally our last night in Manila, Tom and I did get to have a little fun, we were able to fit in a round of golf at one of the best courses I have ever played in. Club Intramuros is an 18 hole golf course built into the relics of the old Spanish fort on Manila harbor. The walls of the fort acted as the boundaries of many holes and certain buildings throughout the compound added to the "hazards" along the way. It was also a unique experience because for the first time ever I played with a caddie who carried my clubs and made suggestions on each of my shots. It definitely was a fun way to end our time in Manila, up until the 15th hole when the nightly downpours began and unfortunately I had forgotten my umbrella! Fun times in Manila and I can't wait to return!
Finally our last night in Manila, Tom and I did get to have a little fun, we were able to fit in a round of golf at one of the best courses I have ever played in. Club Intramuros is an 18 hole golf course built into the relics of the old Spanish fort on Manila harbor. The walls of the fort acted as the boundaries of many holes and certain buildings throughout the compound added to the "hazards" along the way. It was also a unique experience because for the first time ever I played with a caddie who carried my clubs and made suggestions on each of my shots. It definitely was a fun way to end our time in Manila, up until the 15th hole when the nightly downpours began and unfortunately I had forgotten my umbrella! Fun times in Manila and I can't wait to return!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Back To Asia! Again...
Well its been a while since my last post, but its the time of year for me to return to Asia for my annual fall recruitment trip. Stops on this trip include: Taipei, Taiwan; Manila, Philippines; Yangon, Myanmar; Seoul, S. Korea; Tokyo, Japan; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore; Bangkok and Phuket, Thailand; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing, China. This year I have decided to not do a marathon run of 8 straight weeks, instead I'll be spending 3 weeks in Southeast Asia and coming home for a bit before returning to Asia for 2 weeks in China.
I started my trip with a whirlwind tour of Taipei spending the beautiful hot and humid day in downtown Taipei. As usual my trip didn't last long as I spent less than 24 hours in the city. I always enjoy my trips to Taiwan but they are never long enough!
I am now in Manila for the first time ever looking forward to spending the next 2 days exploring a new city! From what I have seen so far it is a beautiful country and reminds me a lot of Bangkok, Thailand. I was really surprised to find out that while Tagalog is the official language EVERYONE speaks English which makes it really easy to get around.
Another new addition for this trip is my travel companions as I will be doing all my visits with other schools. This is always fun and makes it easier to explore new cities with friends.
I'll do my best to keep you updated on my travels and hope to have some pictures up soon!
I started my trip with a whirlwind tour of Taipei spending the beautiful hot and humid day in downtown Taipei. As usual my trip didn't last long as I spent less than 24 hours in the city. I always enjoy my trips to Taiwan but they are never long enough!
I am now in Manila for the first time ever looking forward to spending the next 2 days exploring a new city! From what I have seen so far it is a beautiful country and reminds me a lot of Bangkok, Thailand. I was really surprised to find out that while Tagalog is the official language EVERYONE speaks English which makes it really easy to get around.
Another new addition for this trip is my travel companions as I will be doing all my visits with other schools. This is always fun and makes it easier to explore new cities with friends.
I'll do my best to keep you updated on my travels and hope to have some pictures up soon!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hong Kong
Before I talk about Hong Kong, I want to mention one thing quickly. I believe that Singapore is one of the only countries in the world where you can hail a mercedes taxi. I thought this was cool because the cost for these taxis were almost the same as other taxis and where else can you ride like this unless you are in a "limo"!
Hong Kong has been exciting. With Ronne and Erica in attendance, when we arrived on Saturday I took them on the Star Ferry across to Tsim Sha Tsui to see the light show which is a really cool show with laser and lights lighting up the Hong Kong skyline:
Afterward we returned to Central to a restaurant that was recommended and we enjoyed a lot of really good Cantonese food! For the past few days I had been trying to get Erica to agree to go out to Lan Kwai Fong, but when we finally got to Hong Kong, I was the one too tired to go out!
On Sunday morning Erica and I were able to meet with a young NU alum that has just moved to Hong Kong. We enjoyed lunch up on The Peak which was great but unfortunately there was heavy cloud cover so for a while we couldn't see the city. The Peak is known for its wonderful views over Victoria Harbor but every time I have been up there its been too foggy to see anything! This is supposed to be the view:
Our reception in the evening went really well with lots of alumni and students in attendance, unfortunately from all the visits and talking, I had no voice left for the reception, but it didn't stop me from welcoming in all the admitted students!
On Monday morning it was time to say goodbye to Ronne and Erica who I had been traveling with since Singapore. Ronne was off to Beijing and Erica back to Boston. It was a lot of fun traveling with other people as usual. Over the past couple of days I have stayed in Hong Kong visiting schools and it has been absolutely beautiful weather...for me. Its been overcast and about 75 every day which is the perfect weather, not too hot, not too cold!
I'm off to China tomorrow which means this will be the last blog for the spring. Unfortunately China has blocked blogging so I won't be able to post. Its been a short but fun trip and I'll be returning home in about 10 days!
Hong Kong has been exciting. With Ronne and Erica in attendance, when we arrived on Saturday I took them on the Star Ferry across to Tsim Sha Tsui to see the light show which is a really cool show with laser and lights lighting up the Hong Kong skyline:
Afterward we returned to Central to a restaurant that was recommended and we enjoyed a lot of really good Cantonese food! For the past few days I had been trying to get Erica to agree to go out to Lan Kwai Fong, but when we finally got to Hong Kong, I was the one too tired to go out!
On Sunday morning Erica and I were able to meet with a young NU alum that has just moved to Hong Kong. We enjoyed lunch up on The Peak which was great but unfortunately there was heavy cloud cover so for a while we couldn't see the city. The Peak is known for its wonderful views over Victoria Harbor but every time I have been up there its been too foggy to see anything! This is supposed to be the view:
Our reception in the evening went really well with lots of alumni and students in attendance, unfortunately from all the visits and talking, I had no voice left for the reception, but it didn't stop me from welcoming in all the admitted students!
On Monday morning it was time to say goodbye to Ronne and Erica who I had been traveling with since Singapore. Ronne was off to Beijing and Erica back to Boston. It was a lot of fun traveling with other people as usual. Over the past couple of days I have stayed in Hong Kong visiting schools and it has been absolutely beautiful weather...for me. Its been overcast and about 75 every day which is the perfect weather, not too hot, not too cold!
I'm off to China tomorrow which means this will be the last blog for the spring. Unfortunately China has blocked blogging so I won't be able to post. Its been a short but fun trip and I'll be returning home in about 10 days!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Back in Asia
As usual, its back to Asia this spring. This year much earlier than usual, which I'm happy about to get to some warm weather! Unfortunately I didn't know just how warm it was going to be 95 to be exact, so it was a big change from the winter weather I was used to in Boston.
My first stop this time was Bangkok, one of my favorite cities to visit. While it was only a short visit, a day and a half, I was able to see some great schools, enjoy some great weather, and have some great food. I had dinner with one of my counselors at a very good egyptian restaurant (don't worry I had thai food 3 times in the day that I was there). Bangkok is one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in Asia and it is always fun driving around to my visits as it can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to get to a visit. This spring for some reason traffic wasn't too bad and I made it to my visits with about an hour to spare, so I did a lot of reading.
After Bangkok it was on to Singapore for a few days of high school visits and Admitted Student Receptions. This spring is very different to those in the past as I am not traveling to Singapore and Hong Kong alone. We have done so well in the past few years that this year our Dean of Undergraduate Admissions has accompanied me for the trip to participate in the receptions which have been a huge success. Not only that but I have worked with our Alumni office to combine the admitted student reception with Alumni receptions so I have a lot of company! Last night I enjoyed an alumni dinner with a few alums and the Northeastern Rep at Clarke Quay a very touristy area with a lot of restaurants along the river. After the dinner I tried Durian ice cream which is from the Durian fruit, known for its extremely pungent smell.
I did not mind the taste, it wasn't my favorite type of ice cream but the durian tasted almost nutty and the smell (in ice cream form) was not bad. At the end of the night we had to make one last stop. There is a bar in Clarke Quay called Clinic and it basically looks like a hospital clinic: wheelchairs for chairs, gurney's for couches, surgical lights on the ceiling, waiters/waitresses dressed as Doctors or Nurses etc. but the weirdest thing was that they had a drink that actually came in an IV bag. Who else can say they had a drink in a place like this?
The fun in Singapore is now over and off to Hong Kong where I hope to show my travel companions the light show, the peak and maybe some local markets before our Admitted Student Reception on Sunday.
For all my canadian counselors, here is your moment of zen:
My first stop this time was Bangkok, one of my favorite cities to visit. While it was only a short visit, a day and a half, I was able to see some great schools, enjoy some great weather, and have some great food. I had dinner with one of my counselors at a very good egyptian restaurant (don't worry I had thai food 3 times in the day that I was there). Bangkok is one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in Asia and it is always fun driving around to my visits as it can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to get to a visit. This spring for some reason traffic wasn't too bad and I made it to my visits with about an hour to spare, so I did a lot of reading.
After Bangkok it was on to Singapore for a few days of high school visits and Admitted Student Receptions. This spring is very different to those in the past as I am not traveling to Singapore and Hong Kong alone. We have done so well in the past few years that this year our Dean of Undergraduate Admissions has accompanied me for the trip to participate in the receptions which have been a huge success. Not only that but I have worked with our Alumni office to combine the admitted student reception with Alumni receptions so I have a lot of company! Last night I enjoyed an alumni dinner with a few alums and the Northeastern Rep at Clarke Quay a very touristy area with a lot of restaurants along the river. After the dinner I tried Durian ice cream which is from the Durian fruit, known for its extremely pungent smell.
I did not mind the taste, it wasn't my favorite type of ice cream but the durian tasted almost nutty and the smell (in ice cream form) was not bad. At the end of the night we had to make one last stop. There is a bar in Clarke Quay called Clinic and it basically looks like a hospital clinic: wheelchairs for chairs, gurney's for couches, surgical lights on the ceiling, waiters/waitresses dressed as Doctors or Nurses etc. but the weirdest thing was that they had a drink that actually came in an IV bag. Who else can say they had a drink in a place like this?
The fun in Singapore is now over and off to Hong Kong where I hope to show my travel companions the light show, the peak and maybe some local markets before our Admitted Student Reception on Sunday.
For all my canadian counselors, here is your moment of zen:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Reading Season is here
I know that I've missed alot of posts including Thailand, India and Indonesia but I'm not going to write about them now, just ask me if you have any questions on how the rest of my trip went!
Now its time for reading season. All the applications are coming in from the students I have seen on the road. For those of you that don't know what its like, this video will help...
Now its time for reading season. All the applications are coming in from the students I have seen on the road. For those of you that don't know what its like, this video will help...
Saturday, September 26, 2009
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.
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.
Friday, September 18, 2009
No Blogspot in China
Hi Everyone,
Unfortunately China has blocked blogspot so I cannot access my blog. I have some pictures from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing that I will put up when I arrive in Bangkok on the 23rd. I'll update you with all my new stories then!
Unfortunately China has blocked blogspot so I cannot access my blog. I have some pictures from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing that I will put up when I arrive in Bangkok on the 23rd. I'll update you with all my new stories then!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Where in the world is Darren?
For those of you that don't know, Narita airport in Tokyo is about an hour and a half outside of the city. So by the time we arrived in Tokyo around 9pm and took the bus to our hotel, it was almost midnight with our first visit at 8:30 in the morning the next day and at least a 45 minute commute away! Luckily it was the last day of visits for the week and we had jammed it full with 2 visits in Tokyo and a joint program in Yokohama a city less than 30 minutes away by train. Some of the photos you see in the Tokyo 2009 slideshow are of Matt, Ian and Peter giving their presentation at one of the schools in Tokyo, pretty impressive for less than 6 hours sleep!
Tokyo is stop 3 on my 7 week trip to Asia and its good to know that someone is keeping a watch on me, below is my nieces map that she is following my trip on!
Well the most important part of this whole blog is that for the first time ever I have an entire weekend in Tokyo! A full day of visits wasn't going to stop us from enjoying the city and all recommendations lead to Shibuya, one of the bigger hang-out areas of Tokyo. I was as always in the mood for sushi and lead the guys on a hunt for a sushi-go-round (see my spring Tokyo blog for my obsession with sushi and conveyor belt sushi). Eventually we found one after about 45 minutes of searching and sat down for a big meal of sushi. Its great when you go to a sushi-go-round because you can just grab the plates from the belt and eat whatever looks good to you, and I ate a lot! Overall the quality was good but not the best I've seen in Tokyo, but the experience was great.
After dinner it was off to a very local Japanese bar called "Hobgoblin." Actually its like the largest Expat pub in Tokyo. We were going to meet a counselor from one of our schools there and when we stepped out of the elevator we were welcomed by the roar of dozens of Expats, I was back in an Irish pub in Boston! In true Tokyo style we talked with the counselor and each other for the rest of the night sipping on "native" Guiness. Hey we never said that travel was work 24 hours a day!
(On a side note, after much debate I have decided that "The Postman" has surpassed "Waterworld" for the worst movie ever made, especially starring Kevin Costner, are you trying to ruin your career??)
Saturday was filled with kilometers and kilometers of walking! Since we were staying in Ginza it was a great location to walk and check out the Imperial Palace. Like the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Imperial Palace is home to the Emperor of Japan. Unlike the Forbidden City, The Emperor of Japan is still alive and well and living in the Imperial Palace. After much attempt at getting inside the compound we gave up and just took pictures from across the moat. The Emperor of Japan is the only living and current head of state entitled "Emperor" in the world and the current Emperor is Akihito.
We spent a good portion of the day walking around the outer grounds and gardens of the palace enjoying a beautiful Summer day in Tokyo. By midday Ian and I were hungry for some sushi and on the way back to our hotel we found this little sushi bar on one of the side streets of Ginza. Both Ian and I believed it was the best sushi we have ever eaten anywhere in the world, it was amazing!
Before we returned to the hotel we had one last stop to make, the Sony building! It was cool to see 4 floors of new and upcoming products from Sony, nothing futuristic like I was expecting but some cool upgrades to cameras and video camcorders.
After a quick breather its back out into the city, this time to explore Harujuku, a famous location in Tokyo where the qwerky...i mean eccentric youngsters of Tokyo come to hang out.
...Viewer beware, this video might make you want to remove your eardrums...
After Harujuku and a nice dinner of tempura its off to the famous Shibuya crossing. My friend Peter took this video the night we were there and had over 167,000 views by the next morning, thats crazy!!!
After Shibuya it was back to the hotel for an early night to bed. In the morning we were going to visit Tsukiji Market the largest fish market in the world! When we arrived at the market at 5am to the disappointment of all of us the market was closed on Sunday's, the one day we decide to wake up at 4:30am to visit! We'll have to try again another day.
Sunday was a very interesting day. After having explored Shibuya twice in the previous two days and having seen the Imperial Palace, Sunday was dedicated to visiting a Japanese Onsen. Just like a hot spring in America, a Japanese Onsen is frequently visited by many Japanese. The Onsen that we visited had natural springs that brought Iron rich water from deep in the ground to the surface. There were 6 separate springs and many individual springs to choose from ranging from 18 degrees celsius to 42 degrees celsius. Due to the highly enriched iron in the water, the water appeared black and you could not see your hand an inch under the water. It was a fun but crazy experience sitting in the Onsen for a few hours, letting our tired muscles relax and recuperate in the hot water, but hanging out with dozens of naked dudes is not my style. Thanks for a cool Japanese experience but its one that I probably won't do again soon.
On the way back from the Onsen, the group of us stopped for Crepes in (where else?) Shibuya. These crepes were awesome, you could get anything from ice cream and chocolate sauce to eggs and sausage in your crepe, I went with the first option. While the Crepe was awesome and worth the wait in line, we happened to be standing next to a Japanese street game show and unfortunately the person with the mic had the most obnoxious voice in the world, by the time we were leaving Matt, Ian and I were literally holding Peter back from attacking the person and destroying the microphone. Before heading to bed we had to get some real food so Ian, Peter and I stopped by a 24 hour sushi bar right around the corner from our hotel, most of the sushi was good except for one piece of white fish. Ian tasted it and said "Guys, you are definitely not going to like this" which at that point of course Peter and I ate it and in the end only one of us actually was able to finish the piece and it was not me (that was the first really bad experience with sushi).
In the morning we woke up again to try to see Tsukiji Market and finally it was open! Check out my photos to see tons of fish available for purchase in the market. Each day Tsukiji handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood, and it all creates an intoxicating aroma! After a day full of visits highlighted by our charming good looks and a very successful parent program its off to our next destination. Unfortunately this is where Peter and Matt are leaving us for home. While I'm very envious of them returning to the states it has been a fun filled week traveling with them. For Ian, Jen and I its off to Taipei.
Thanks for a fun filled week of travel:
Tokyo is stop 3 on my 7 week trip to Asia and its good to know that someone is keeping a watch on me, below is my nieces map that she is following my trip on!
Well the most important part of this whole blog is that for the first time ever I have an entire weekend in Tokyo! A full day of visits wasn't going to stop us from enjoying the city and all recommendations lead to Shibuya, one of the bigger hang-out areas of Tokyo. I was as always in the mood for sushi and lead the guys on a hunt for a sushi-go-round (see my spring Tokyo blog for my obsession with sushi and conveyor belt sushi). Eventually we found one after about 45 minutes of searching and sat down for a big meal of sushi. Its great when you go to a sushi-go-round because you can just grab the plates from the belt and eat whatever looks good to you, and I ate a lot! Overall the quality was good but not the best I've seen in Tokyo, but the experience was great.
After dinner it was off to a very local Japanese bar called "Hobgoblin." Actually its like the largest Expat pub in Tokyo. We were going to meet a counselor from one of our schools there and when we stepped out of the elevator we were welcomed by the roar of dozens of Expats, I was back in an Irish pub in Boston! In true Tokyo style we talked with the counselor and each other for the rest of the night sipping on "native" Guiness. Hey we never said that travel was work 24 hours a day!
(On a side note, after much debate I have decided that "The Postman" has surpassed "Waterworld" for the worst movie ever made, especially starring Kevin Costner, are you trying to ruin your career??)
Saturday was filled with kilometers and kilometers of walking! Since we were staying in Ginza it was a great location to walk and check out the Imperial Palace. Like the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Imperial Palace is home to the Emperor of Japan. Unlike the Forbidden City, The Emperor of Japan is still alive and well and living in the Imperial Palace. After much attempt at getting inside the compound we gave up and just took pictures from across the moat. The Emperor of Japan is the only living and current head of state entitled "Emperor" in the world and the current Emperor is Akihito.
We spent a good portion of the day walking around the outer grounds and gardens of the palace enjoying a beautiful Summer day in Tokyo. By midday Ian and I were hungry for some sushi and on the way back to our hotel we found this little sushi bar on one of the side streets of Ginza. Both Ian and I believed it was the best sushi we have ever eaten anywhere in the world, it was amazing!
Before we returned to the hotel we had one last stop to make, the Sony building! It was cool to see 4 floors of new and upcoming products from Sony, nothing futuristic like I was expecting but some cool upgrades to cameras and video camcorders.
After a quick breather its back out into the city, this time to explore Harujuku, a famous location in Tokyo where the qwerky...i mean eccentric youngsters of Tokyo come to hang out.
...Viewer beware, this video might make you want to remove your eardrums...
After Harujuku and a nice dinner of tempura its off to the famous Shibuya crossing. My friend Peter took this video the night we were there and had over 167,000 views by the next morning, thats crazy!!!
After Shibuya it was back to the hotel for an early night to bed. In the morning we were going to visit Tsukiji Market the largest fish market in the world! When we arrived at the market at 5am to the disappointment of all of us the market was closed on Sunday's, the one day we decide to wake up at 4:30am to visit! We'll have to try again another day.
Sunday was a very interesting day. After having explored Shibuya twice in the previous two days and having seen the Imperial Palace, Sunday was dedicated to visiting a Japanese Onsen. Just like a hot spring in America, a Japanese Onsen is frequently visited by many Japanese. The Onsen that we visited had natural springs that brought Iron rich water from deep in the ground to the surface. There were 6 separate springs and many individual springs to choose from ranging from 18 degrees celsius to 42 degrees celsius. Due to the highly enriched iron in the water, the water appeared black and you could not see your hand an inch under the water. It was a fun but crazy experience sitting in the Onsen for a few hours, letting our tired muscles relax and recuperate in the hot water, but hanging out with dozens of naked dudes is not my style. Thanks for a cool Japanese experience but its one that I probably won't do again soon.
On the way back from the Onsen, the group of us stopped for Crepes in (where else?) Shibuya. These crepes were awesome, you could get anything from ice cream and chocolate sauce to eggs and sausage in your crepe, I went with the first option. While the Crepe was awesome and worth the wait in line, we happened to be standing next to a Japanese street game show and unfortunately the person with the mic had the most obnoxious voice in the world, by the time we were leaving Matt, Ian and I were literally holding Peter back from attacking the person and destroying the microphone. Before heading to bed we had to get some real food so Ian, Peter and I stopped by a 24 hour sushi bar right around the corner from our hotel, most of the sushi was good except for one piece of white fish. Ian tasted it and said "Guys, you are definitely not going to like this" which at that point of course Peter and I ate it and in the end only one of us actually was able to finish the piece and it was not me (that was the first really bad experience with sushi).
In the morning we woke up again to try to see Tsukiji Market and finally it was open! Check out my photos to see tons of fish available for purchase in the market. Each day Tsukiji handles over 2000 metric tons of seafood, and it all creates an intoxicating aroma! After a day full of visits highlighted by our charming good looks and a very successful parent program its off to our next destination. Unfortunately this is where Peter and Matt are leaving us for home. While I'm very envious of them returning to the states it has been a fun filled week traveling with them. For Ian, Jen and I its off to Taipei.
Thanks for a fun filled week of travel:
Friday, September 11, 2009
Kamsahamida Seoul!
Wow, so Seoul, is a pretty cool city when you finally get a chance to explore it and hanging out with other people in Seoul makes it really fun! By now I'm sure you realize that I'm not actually in Seoul but I'm trying to catch up on my blog because I have had an amazing couple of weeks thanks to Ian Fisher, Jen Russell, Matt Bonser and Peter Boston. For Seoul, and Tokyo the 5 of us took the cities by storm! It all starts with...
Monday, August 31st 9:00a.m. Singapore time
Ian: "Don't know if you've heard from Jen but a typhoon warning in Tokyo has delayed my flight and canceled hers..."
Hmm maybe I'll be starting in Seoul by myself but luckily Ian's flight was able to leave a little later and make it to Seoul before the start of our visits which is good because I was really looking forward to group visits in Seoul hoping to bring in more students to each visit.
Ian Fisher is a rep from Reed College in Oregon and like me attended his institution prior to working for it. You never know what to expect when you plan group travel, many times you don't get a chance to meet each other before you say "yeah! lets spend 2 weeks together working for 16 hours a day in a stressful environment," but luckily every group I have been a part of has been a lot of fun and this one was no different. Ian and I got along easily and before I knew it he was trying to lead me around Seoul (he has never been there), and as he told me, like his Dad I would wait until we were going the wrong way to say anything.
Seoul is a massive city, think New York City and each of your visits are as far apart as possible one side to another. It easily took an hour each way to get to our visits on the first day, but true to form, with more than one admissions counselor visiting we were able to draw a bigger crowd. By the end of the day it was time to explore Seoul! This is my third visit to Seoul but the first with enough time to really explore the city, so Ian and I walked around for about an hour seeing the City Hall area and Cheonggyecheon stream.
Ian had also heard that the street food was awesome and when we found a cart, we jumped on it, eating whatever they were selling. We still don't know exactly what we ate, I know I had fish paste on a stick (tastes much better then it sounds) and we had spicy and hot rice cake and fish something that was amazing...
We topped it all off with the best donuts I have ever had. This old guy was making and selling the donuts on the street for 50 cents a piece, 2 for 25 cents a piece and you could dip it in as much sugar as you wanted. These donuts were the best, you could actually feel your arteries constricting as you ate them but they were great! I think all together we spent no more than 5 bucks on the entire dinner.
By the next day Jen had finally arrived from the U.S. to join us for our visit, and it was right in time. Our first visit was an hour taxi ride away, but the school visit was great and my wife is going to love the gift they gave me! By the afternoon Matt and Peter had arrived in Seoul to meet us at our final visit for the day. Neither of them had ever been to Seoul and somehow I failed to mention the awesome, easy and efficient bus service that runs from the airport directly to our hotel, so instead they took a train to another train to the subway to the hotel, but either way they arrived safely.
That evening while Jen and Peter met with alumni, Ian and I took Matt on a tour of the city, basically seeing what we saw the day before and eating the exact same street food as the night before but it was still awesome! We then went to a couple cool bars in Seoul, where we were pretty sure we were the only foreigners for about a mile radius but no one cared and we had a lot of fun!
The next day was our last in Seoul and it was sad for all of us as we had a great time in the city. We went to the first visit early in the morning which gave us a lot of time to eat one last lunch in the Lotte Hotel underground market. This is the same market I have mentioned in previous blogs where they have tons of different vendors, and of course my favorite dim sum and sushi. This time I also had a pineapple and kiwi fruit juice where they basically took chunks of pineapple and kiwi and blended it up then added just enough water to make it a juice but it tasted great.
Good times in Seoul, now off to Tokyo.
Monday, August 31st 9:00a.m. Singapore time
Ian: "Don't know if you've heard from Jen but a typhoon warning in Tokyo has delayed my flight and canceled hers..."
Hmm maybe I'll be starting in Seoul by myself but luckily Ian's flight was able to leave a little later and make it to Seoul before the start of our visits which is good because I was really looking forward to group visits in Seoul hoping to bring in more students to each visit.
Ian Fisher is a rep from Reed College in Oregon and like me attended his institution prior to working for it. You never know what to expect when you plan group travel, many times you don't get a chance to meet each other before you say "yeah! lets spend 2 weeks together working for 16 hours a day in a stressful environment," but luckily every group I have been a part of has been a lot of fun and this one was no different. Ian and I got along easily and before I knew it he was trying to lead me around Seoul (he has never been there), and as he told me, like his Dad I would wait until we were going the wrong way to say anything.
Seoul is a massive city, think New York City and each of your visits are as far apart as possible one side to another. It easily took an hour each way to get to our visits on the first day, but true to form, with more than one admissions counselor visiting we were able to draw a bigger crowd. By the end of the day it was time to explore Seoul! This is my third visit to Seoul but the first with enough time to really explore the city, so Ian and I walked around for about an hour seeing the City Hall area and Cheonggyecheon stream.
Ian had also heard that the street food was awesome and when we found a cart, we jumped on it, eating whatever they were selling. We still don't know exactly what we ate, I know I had fish paste on a stick (tastes much better then it sounds) and we had spicy and hot rice cake and fish something that was amazing...
We topped it all off with the best donuts I have ever had. This old guy was making and selling the donuts on the street for 50 cents a piece, 2 for 25 cents a piece and you could dip it in as much sugar as you wanted. These donuts were the best, you could actually feel your arteries constricting as you ate them but they were great! I think all together we spent no more than 5 bucks on the entire dinner.
By the next day Jen had finally arrived from the U.S. to join us for our visit, and it was right in time. Our first visit was an hour taxi ride away, but the school visit was great and my wife is going to love the gift they gave me! By the afternoon Matt and Peter had arrived in Seoul to meet us at our final visit for the day. Neither of them had ever been to Seoul and somehow I failed to mention the awesome, easy and efficient bus service that runs from the airport directly to our hotel, so instead they took a train to another train to the subway to the hotel, but either way they arrived safely.
That evening while Jen and Peter met with alumni, Ian and I took Matt on a tour of the city, basically seeing what we saw the day before and eating the exact same street food as the night before but it was still awesome! We then went to a couple cool bars in Seoul, where we were pretty sure we were the only foreigners for about a mile radius but no one cared and we had a lot of fun!
The next day was our last in Seoul and it was sad for all of us as we had a great time in the city. We went to the first visit early in the morning which gave us a lot of time to eat one last lunch in the Lotte Hotel underground market. This is the same market I have mentioned in previous blogs where they have tons of different vendors, and of course my favorite dim sum and sushi. This time I also had a pineapple and kiwi fruit juice where they basically took chunks of pineapple and kiwi and blended it up then added just enough water to make it a juice but it tasted great.
Good times in Seoul, now off to Tokyo.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Singapore
Well its been a while since my last post but I have been pretty busy! Last time I left you I was just finishing up my second day in Singapore and the rest of my time there was just as fun. On Friday I watched the Dodgeball tournament at ICS in Singapore and then went out to a nice mexican dinner (in Singapore) with the school counselor, principal and about 4 of the teachers. It was a lot of fun and I got to learn alot more about the school and how challenging their curriculum is, not to mention the enchiladas were pretty good for halfway around the world!
On Saturday I had a lot of free time but just as I was about to head out into the city I heard from my colleague from Skidmore who was in Singapore too, we decided to meet up and have lunch/sightsee in Clarke Quay. Clarke Quay is a big tourist spot in Singapore and the restaurant hub, right along the river in the middle of Singapore. It has every type of food you can imagine and is a great place to hang out on the weekend. It was alot of fun having lunch there so we ended up going back to Clarke Quay for dinner with two other colleagues from Colorado College and Kenyon College. It was a fun night but unfortunately I woke up to pouring rain for all of Sunday, which was disappointing as I was going to explore the bird park but it did allow me to catch up on my work. On Sunday night I was able to get out for a bit and had dinner with one of the alums I see regularly which was great for my last night in Singapore...until the spring! Next onto Seoul!
I've added pictures from Singapore, enjoy!
On Saturday I had a lot of free time but just as I was about to head out into the city I heard from my colleague from Skidmore who was in Singapore too, we decided to meet up and have lunch/sightsee in Clarke Quay. Clarke Quay is a big tourist spot in Singapore and the restaurant hub, right along the river in the middle of Singapore. It has every type of food you can imagine and is a great place to hang out on the weekend. It was alot of fun having lunch there so we ended up going back to Clarke Quay for dinner with two other colleagues from Colorado College and Kenyon College. It was a fun night but unfortunately I woke up to pouring rain for all of Sunday, which was disappointing as I was going to explore the bird park but it did allow me to catch up on my work. On Sunday night I was able to get out for a bit and had dinner with one of the alums I see regularly which was great for my last night in Singapore...until the spring! Next onto Seoul!
I've added pictures from Singapore, enjoy!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Back in Asia for another adventure
Its 4:15am on the second day in Singapore but I'm wide awake thanks to the 12 hour time difference and the 27 hour flight from Boston to Singapore, but even with all of this I'm excited to be back in Asia for another recruitment season!
As you may have noticed I have added some new features to my blog for this year, I am continuing to try to make it more interactive. To start I hope that everyone who reads this blog will participate in my poll so that I can get a better sense of what my followers are looking for. I have also added a news feed to keep everyone up-to-date about world issues that I find important. I hope you enjoy these new features!
This is going to be an exciting, exhausting, overwhelming, wonderful trip this fall. It is now August, 27th, day two of my new excursion with 44 days in Asia remaining. I will be returning to all of my favorite places (Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Bangkok) and adding some new places (Hangzhou, almost all of India and Jakarta) which I'm really excited about. In total I will be away from my homeland for almost 7 straight weeks but I'm looking forward to this much more than the 3 separate trips that I did last fall.
Today is day 2 in Singapore and already I am noticing the differences from the last time I visited. Traffic is becoming an increasing problem. I have asked some of the secondary school counselors and taxi drivers why this is so and they have told me that cars have become much more affordable and many people are choosing to buy and drive instead of taking public transportation and taxis. While Singapore is a small city-state and you can usually get from one side to the other in about 30 minutes I don't know how much longer it will be before traffic becomes a bigger issue. My visits are going well, I had three yesterday at some of my best schools and was able to draw quite a crowd at most of them. At one school I asked: "How many of you have visited Northeastern?" almost everyone raised their hand, and even more so, they told me that I was the one that presented their information session! Pretty impressive when I only did about 4 sessions this summer and there were about 10 students that had visited!
The weather here has been overcast and rainy, which is awesome because it has kept it cooler than usual. Although I have done some heavy training in preparing for the temperature change (Boston has had a couple of weeks of 90+/30+ degree heat) it is always a bit of a shock to get used to the humidity.
I'm really excited for a few things here in Singapore:
1) I'm hopefully going to go to dinner with a few alumni here that I try to see regularly. I try to keep them up-to-date on Northeastern's progress but also its nice to share a dinner with someone
2) I have been invited to participate in a dodgeball tournament at one of my schools which will be a perfect ending to my visits in this city. I then will be going to dinner with a few counselors which once again is nice to not have to eat alone all the time
3) I have the entire weekend free which is rare even for a long trip. I will be leaving for Seoul on Monday and until then I hope to do a bit of sightseeing, although I don't know what to see, recommendations are always welcome
For now, I'll continue to try to take pictures and update you on my trip, hopefully I'll be able to put up new posts in each city I visit. In the meantime keep in touch, e-mails are always great to get when you are abroad!
In the spirit of Jon Stewart, here is today's moment of zen...
As you may have noticed I have added some new features to my blog for this year, I am continuing to try to make it more interactive. To start I hope that everyone who reads this blog will participate in my poll so that I can get a better sense of what my followers are looking for. I have also added a news feed to keep everyone up-to-date about world issues that I find important. I hope you enjoy these new features!
This is going to be an exciting, exhausting, overwhelming, wonderful trip this fall. It is now August, 27th, day two of my new excursion with 44 days in Asia remaining. I will be returning to all of my favorite places (Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Bangkok) and adding some new places (Hangzhou, almost all of India and Jakarta) which I'm really excited about. In total I will be away from my homeland for almost 7 straight weeks but I'm looking forward to this much more than the 3 separate trips that I did last fall.
Today is day 2 in Singapore and already I am noticing the differences from the last time I visited. Traffic is becoming an increasing problem. I have asked some of the secondary school counselors and taxi drivers why this is so and they have told me that cars have become much more affordable and many people are choosing to buy and drive instead of taking public transportation and taxis. While Singapore is a small city-state and you can usually get from one side to the other in about 30 minutes I don't know how much longer it will be before traffic becomes a bigger issue. My visits are going well, I had three yesterday at some of my best schools and was able to draw quite a crowd at most of them. At one school I asked: "How many of you have visited Northeastern?" almost everyone raised their hand, and even more so, they told me that I was the one that presented their information session! Pretty impressive when I only did about 4 sessions this summer and there were about 10 students that had visited!
The weather here has been overcast and rainy, which is awesome because it has kept it cooler than usual. Although I have done some heavy training in preparing for the temperature change (Boston has had a couple of weeks of 90+/30+ degree heat) it is always a bit of a shock to get used to the humidity.
I'm really excited for a few things here in Singapore:
1) I'm hopefully going to go to dinner with a few alumni here that I try to see regularly. I try to keep them up-to-date on Northeastern's progress but also its nice to share a dinner with someone
2) I have been invited to participate in a dodgeball tournament at one of my schools which will be a perfect ending to my visits in this city. I then will be going to dinner with a few counselors which once again is nice to not have to eat alone all the time
3) I have the entire weekend free which is rare even for a long trip. I will be leaving for Seoul on Monday and until then I hope to do a bit of sightseeing, although I don't know what to see, recommendations are always welcome
For now, I'll continue to try to take pictures and update you on my trip, hopefully I'll be able to put up new posts in each city I visit. In the meantime keep in touch, e-mails are always great to get when you are abroad!
In the spirit of Jon Stewart, here is today's moment of zen...
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Beijing
Well I learned a terrible thing today, I can't converse with a taxi driver in Chinese. I used to be able to get by but not anymore, plus the taxi drivers english is getting worse now that the Olympics are over which actually makes them worse drivers somehow. They don't know any of the locations which can make it difficult to get around if you do not have a map handy.
I'm in Beijing for the last two days of my visit and unfortunately I do have to mention that the pollution/smog around the city has returned since the Olympics. We are having some nice weather right now but I am really looking forward to returning home even if it is cold in Boston. I have been able to have my favorite chinese dish (gong bao ji ding) twice while I have been here so I have done everything that I wanted to!
I can't believe that is was only 2 weeks ago that I was in Hong Kong for my first reception. Time has flown by, but at the same time it feels so long ago. But with only two visits tomorrow then off to Philadelphia the trip has come to an end. Until next fall...enjoy some asian food
I'm in Beijing for the last two days of my visit and unfortunately I do have to mention that the pollution/smog around the city has returned since the Olympics. We are having some nice weather right now but I am really looking forward to returning home even if it is cold in Boston. I have been able to have my favorite chinese dish (gong bao ji ding) twice while I have been here so I have done everything that I wanted to!
I can't believe that is was only 2 weeks ago that I was in Hong Kong for my first reception. Time has flown by, but at the same time it feels so long ago. But with only two visits tomorrow then off to Philadelphia the trip has come to an end. Until next fall...enjoy some asian food
Monday, April 6, 2009
Singapore
Well I have arrived in Singapore only to find out that North Korea had finally launched its rocket. For those of you who have have not heard about this, North Korea was planning on launching a Satellite into orbit, however most of the regional countries and the U.S. believe it was more of a test of their ballistic missile system. A lot of people were worried in Tokyo while I was there. The government had brought in surface-to-air missile systems to shoot down any debris from the launch if it ended up over Japan, luckily none did.
Apparently North Korea launched the rocket while I was sitting in the airport in Tokyo. I didn't hear about the outcome until I arrived in Singapore. For me there was no need to worry, this has far more policical implications for the North Korean's than military implications.
Singapore is as beautiful as ever. I arrived in my hotel late last night and had a full day of visits today. As is typical in Singapore it is a beautiful day until about 2pm when there are torrential downpours for about an hour at most and then back to beautiful weather. I am definitely enjoying the warmer climate, I believe it is high 80's today? Not much time for sightseeing this visit. I'm off to my last Admitted Student Reception this evening then another full day of visits tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be as nice. I'm enjoying my last week in Asia but looking forward to returning home at the end of the week!
Apparently North Korea launched the rocket while I was sitting in the airport in Tokyo. I didn't hear about the outcome until I arrived in Singapore. For me there was no need to worry, this has far more policical implications for the North Korean's than military implications.
Singapore is as beautiful as ever. I arrived in my hotel late last night and had a full day of visits today. As is typical in Singapore it is a beautiful day until about 2pm when there are torrential downpours for about an hour at most and then back to beautiful weather. I am definitely enjoying the warmer climate, I believe it is high 80's today? Not much time for sightseeing this visit. I'm off to my last Admitted Student Reception this evening then another full day of visits tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be as nice. I'm enjoying my last week in Asia but looking forward to returning home at the end of the week!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Oi Shii!
Ok, my last meal in Tokyo was...of course! Sushi! But this was different...
Today was my last full day in Tokyo and I have loved my time here. This afternoon I hosted my third Admitted Student Reception which was a success once again. Not only did I have about 8 students and their families in attendance, I also had one of my guidance counselors and one of my best friends mothers in attendance. My friend Takuo is from Japan and everytime I come to Tokyo I meet up with his mother and she brings me to some local japanese restaurants. But this time was special, Tak's mom came to my reception in a traditional Kimono:
Today was my last full day in Tokyo and I have loved my time here. This afternoon I hosted my third Admitted Student Reception which was a success once again. Not only did I have about 8 students and their families in attendance, I also had one of my guidance counselors and one of my best friends mothers in attendance. My friend Takuo is from Japan and everytime I come to Tokyo I meet up with his mother and she brings me to some local japanese restaurants. But this time was special, Tak's mom came to my reception in a traditional Kimono:
Tak and his mother in traditional Kimonos (just kidding, but these are traditional kimonos)After the reception Tak's mother took me out to Tak's favorite sushi place in Roppongi, right near where Tak grew up. Apparently everytime he comes back to Tokyo, Tak eats here. If I thought I ate alot of sushi at the conveyor belt restaurant then I was wrong! I ate about double that tonight! Tak's mom ordered me an assortment of sushi that I have never tried which included: mini squid, monkfish liver, scallops, red snapper, squid, shrimp, tuna, mackerel, horse makerel (apparently there is a difference), flounder, salmon roe, eel, sea urchin, Tak's favorite sushi (help me out here buddy I can't remember the name) which includes crunchy fish roe, Arcfish (I couldn't understand the translation), sea urchin (a different type that is cooked), I know there were a couple more but I can't remember them, but you can see that I ate alot of sushi! And then topped it off with a scoop of Green Tea and Red Bean ice cream.
I think my trip to Tokyo has been really good. I enjoyed the high school visit and the reception and I really enjoyed exploring Roppongi hills, oh yeah and the sushi wasn't bad either...
Off to Singapore in the morning!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Konnichi Wa
Yes! I did it! I had dinner at a sushi place that had a conveyor belt! I'm in heaven!
For those of you that don't know what I mean, I have heard about these sushi restaurants in Tokyo where you sit down at the "bar" or counter and there is a little conveyor belt that wraps around the bar. The sushi chefs prepare plates of sushi almost at random and just place it on the conveyor belt and you take whatever plates you want. Each plate has a different color in order to tell the price. It was amazing! Not only was the sushi awesome, but I was able to try some different types. I had the usual salmon, and tuna but I also had pink shrimp, squid, and a couple types of fish that I have never had before. The great thing about this is, if you are brave enough, you can just grab something that you have no clue what it is and try it.
Ok, I may have an obsession with sushi. I have had it for every meal except for breakfast since arriving in Tokyo. I had it for dinner last night, I even had it for lunch at my high school visit, and then with the sushi tonight for dinner...I plan on going back for dinner tomorrow too. What can I say? For those of you that remember my last trip to Tokyo, I was sick for the last day of the two day visit and I never had sushi. I was really disappointed so I'm just trying to make up for lost time now.
Today I only had one school visit but it was cool because it was Japan Day at the school, which is an all girls school so they were all wearing traditional kimono's. One of the girls I met with was wearing her grandmothers handmade kimono, it was beautiful, they really are very elegant. I guess we are pretty lucky at Northeastern University, I didn't get to visit this school in the fall but we still received 5 applications from them, more than any other school in the U.S. received from them.
After my visit I decided to walk back to my hotel (I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt hotel, which usually is way out of my league, but because I am hosting my reception there, this is a one time exception, this is also the hotel from "Lost in Translation"). It is only about a 20 minute walk but it really allows me to explore the city a bit. I love Tokyo, it is such a beautiful city. The streets are very narrow but so beautiful because almost all of the streets have some sort of flora, but this time of year is especially beautiful because the cherry blossoms are out and amazing! There are so many trees lining the street, it is awesome!
I am also staying in Roppongi which is one of the bigger expat communities so there are plenty of signs in English around here. I walked around the area for about 2 hours before I had dinner.
When I am in Asia I eat a lot of Asian cuisine (obviously, see all of my previous posts) but breakfast is always different. Occasionally I will have breakfast in the hotel before I head out in order to have a good meal but most times I try to find a coffee shop around the hotel and 9 times out of 10 its a Starbucks, believe it or not its one way for me to be able to stay within my budget because I can usually get my breakfast for a fraction of the cost of a breakfast in the hotel.
This blog has focused a lot on the food and travel aspects of my job but one thing I don't think I mention is the people I meet. One reason why I love my job is that when I walk into a school, even a new school that I have never been to before, the guidance counselor and I are like old school buddies. At all of the good schools the experience of talking with the counselors is what makes my travel so enjoyable. Lots of visits will include a meal where we talk about more than just education and sometimes it even turns into drinks after work. It only gets better after each visit. As I am now on my third trip to Asia there are some counselors that I really look forward to seeing again and catching up with. Many of the most friendly are in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, this may be why I love visiting these cities the most.
Well its time for bed for me, but tomorrow morning is another day of walking around Tokyo, an Admitted Student Reception and of course sushi!
For those of you that don't know what I mean, I have heard about these sushi restaurants in Tokyo where you sit down at the "bar" or counter and there is a little conveyor belt that wraps around the bar. The sushi chefs prepare plates of sushi almost at random and just place it on the conveyor belt and you take whatever plates you want. Each plate has a different color in order to tell the price. It was amazing! Not only was the sushi awesome, but I was able to try some different types. I had the usual salmon, and tuna but I also had pink shrimp, squid, and a couple types of fish that I have never had before. The great thing about this is, if you are brave enough, you can just grab something that you have no clue what it is and try it.
Ok, I may have an obsession with sushi. I have had it for every meal except for breakfast since arriving in Tokyo. I had it for dinner last night, I even had it for lunch at my high school visit, and then with the sushi tonight for dinner...I plan on going back for dinner tomorrow too. What can I say? For those of you that remember my last trip to Tokyo, I was sick for the last day of the two day visit and I never had sushi. I was really disappointed so I'm just trying to make up for lost time now.
Today I only had one school visit but it was cool because it was Japan Day at the school, which is an all girls school so they were all wearing traditional kimono's. One of the girls I met with was wearing her grandmothers handmade kimono, it was beautiful, they really are very elegant. I guess we are pretty lucky at Northeastern University, I didn't get to visit this school in the fall but we still received 5 applications from them, more than any other school in the U.S. received from them.
After my visit I decided to walk back to my hotel (I'm staying at the Grand Hyatt hotel, which usually is way out of my league, but because I am hosting my reception there, this is a one time exception, this is also the hotel from "Lost in Translation"). It is only about a 20 minute walk but it really allows me to explore the city a bit. I love Tokyo, it is such a beautiful city. The streets are very narrow but so beautiful because almost all of the streets have some sort of flora, but this time of year is especially beautiful because the cherry blossoms are out and amazing! There are so many trees lining the street, it is awesome!
I am also staying in Roppongi which is one of the bigger expat communities so there are plenty of signs in English around here. I walked around the area for about 2 hours before I had dinner.
When I am in Asia I eat a lot of Asian cuisine (obviously, see all of my previous posts) but breakfast is always different. Occasionally I will have breakfast in the hotel before I head out in order to have a good meal but most times I try to find a coffee shop around the hotel and 9 times out of 10 its a Starbucks, believe it or not its one way for me to be able to stay within my budget because I can usually get my breakfast for a fraction of the cost of a breakfast in the hotel.
This blog has focused a lot on the food and travel aspects of my job but one thing I don't think I mention is the people I meet. One reason why I love my job is that when I walk into a school, even a new school that I have never been to before, the guidance counselor and I are like old school buddies. At all of the good schools the experience of talking with the counselors is what makes my travel so enjoyable. Lots of visits will include a meal where we talk about more than just education and sometimes it even turns into drinks after work. It only gets better after each visit. As I am now on my third trip to Asia there are some counselors that I really look forward to seeing again and catching up with. Many of the most friendly are in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, this may be why I love visiting these cities the most.
Well its time for bed for me, but tomorrow morning is another day of walking around Tokyo, an Admitted Student Reception and of course sushi!
Sawatdee Kaa!
Well as I'm sure you know I'm long past Seoul by now but let me catch you up on my travels. Last time I wrote I was in Seoul just about to host my second Admitted Student Reception. It wasn't nearly as good as Hong Kong, but that was to be expected Northeastern University doesn't have the reputation in Seoul that it has in Hong Kong, at least not yet...
There was one good thing about the reception though...all you can eat sushi (please see my last post about sushi)!!!! After everyone goes home is when I usually get my chance to eat during a reception and there was plenty of food after the Seoul reception so I feasted on a ton of sushi and shrimp, along with everything else, but lets be honest, I focused on the sushi, I may have eaten too much. Once that was over, I was off to Thailand and this was quite the adventure. On my flight to Bangkok, right before we were to take off there was a sick passenger so we had to go back to the gate and then all of a sudden a huge verbal argument broke out in the aisle right next to me! It was almost comical and I wish I understood Korean so I could know what they were yelling about, it seemed to be about the persons luggage in the overhead compartment. I'm sure it would have been much less interesting if I could have understood it. Its much more fun when you can come up with your own subtitles to a conversation.
You know I always forget how much I love Bangkok. When people ask me what my favorite cities are, I always say Hong Kong and Singapore. Maybe because I have been there more than any other cities but for some reason I always forget how nice the people are in Thailand, how beautiful the country is and how awesome the weather is, plus when I am in Bangkok I stay in an apartment instead of a hotel room and it always costs much less than a hotel room in other countries.
This trip to Bangkok is a short one, just one day. I only had time to visit two schools but was done by 4pm so I had the afternoon/evening to walk around a bit. The area that I stay in is the Embassy district, so there is a lot of cool buildings and restaurants. Tonights menu is phad thai with prawns, mmm. Unfortunately I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning so its an early night. Off to Tokyo in the morning.
There was one good thing about the reception though...all you can eat sushi (please see my last post about sushi)!!!! After everyone goes home is when I usually get my chance to eat during a reception and there was plenty of food after the Seoul reception so I feasted on a ton of sushi and shrimp, along with everything else, but lets be honest, I focused on the sushi, I may have eaten too much. Once that was over, I was off to Thailand and this was quite the adventure. On my flight to Bangkok, right before we were to take off there was a sick passenger so we had to go back to the gate and then all of a sudden a huge verbal argument broke out in the aisle right next to me! It was almost comical and I wish I understood Korean so I could know what they were yelling about, it seemed to be about the persons luggage in the overhead compartment. I'm sure it would have been much less interesting if I could have understood it. Its much more fun when you can come up with your own subtitles to a conversation.
You know I always forget how much I love Bangkok. When people ask me what my favorite cities are, I always say Hong Kong and Singapore. Maybe because I have been there more than any other cities but for some reason I always forget how nice the people are in Thailand, how beautiful the country is and how awesome the weather is, plus when I am in Bangkok I stay in an apartment instead of a hotel room and it always costs much less than a hotel room in other countries.
This trip to Bangkok is a short one, just one day. I only had time to visit two schools but was done by 4pm so I had the afternoon/evening to walk around a bit. The area that I stay in is the Embassy district, so there is a lot of cool buildings and restaurants. Tonights menu is phad thai with prawns, mmm. Unfortunately I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning so its an early night. Off to Tokyo in the morning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)