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Trip Summary
Malaysia: Melaka June 8 – 12, 2006 The last stop of our multi-nation journey was Melaka, back in Malaysia (after our brief trip to Singapore). It was a nice, normal town–a good place to end up. It encapsulated Malaysia because it was so diverse–it has Malay, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch roots. Porta de Santiago, …
Cameron Highlands
Malaysia: Tana Ratah, Cameron Highlands May 24 -26, 2006 Because the Cameron Highlands were at a higher altitude, the weather was really cool and the fresh air was invigorating. We went “jungle trekking” and it was really beautiful. The jungle was dense and dark and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We only saw four other tourists …
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN Beijing
BEIJING: Temple of Heaven October 2005 On Tuesday we set out for the Temple of Heaven. It was a disappointment because, despite its celestial name, it was just another series of courtyards, gates, and pagodas. We had also made the mistake of buying only the “entrance” ticket and not the “through” ticket. Without the “through” …
BEIJING ACROBATS Beijing
BEIJING ACROBATS October 2005 No trip to Beijing would be complete without taking in a show of their famous acrobats. For one hour we were entertained by incredibly strong and talented individuals. They jumped through hoops, laid on top of spear points, did all sorts of contortions, carried ten people on one bicycle, flipped bowls …
Dandong
CHINA: Dandong May 2005 We arrived in Dandong around noon on a Saturday. The area had a population of 2.4 million, and the city seemed smaller than Dalian. It had a lot more bicycles and trees lining the streets though. A giant statue of Chairman Mao Zedong towered over the square in the center of …
Chongqing
China: Chongqing April 10-12, 2006 We hung out in Chongqing for a while because we had free accommodation with a guy who was the manager of our school in Dalian and is now managing a school here. Plus his apartment had a sit-down toilet, which is quite a luxury after having squatters for the past …
MtNamsan
SOUTH KOREA: Mt. Namsan May 2005 Mount Namsan or “South Mountain” near Gyeongju, is said to be a “museum without walls” because of all the ancient stone Buddhas carved on the mountain. The mountain was indeed beautiful. We spent the whole day on the mountain, enjoying exercise and fresh air, spectacular views, squirrels with funny …
Three Gorges Dam
China: Three Gorges Dam April 7, 2006 It was big.
LAMA TEMPLE
BEIJING: Lama Temple October 2005 This temple, conveniently located directly above a subway stop, is the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple outside of Tibet. It started as just another palace residence, but it was converted to a lamasery in 1744. As we wandered its courtyards on Thursday morning, it appeared to be about the same …
Great Wall of China
CHINA: THE GREAT WALL From Jinshanling to Simatai, October 2005 Zac and I chose to do a 10km hike along an unrestored part of the Great Wall, from Jinshanling to Simatai. We had arranged a mini-bus to the wall through our hotel so at 6:30 a.m. we left for a 3 hour bus ride to …