Photos
Shanghai
China: Shanghai March 31-April 2, 2006 We spent just two days in Shanghai, where we rode a magnetic levitation train from the airport to the city. It reached a speed of 430 km per hour and only took 8 minutes. Later we went to the top of the 5th tallest building in the world (Jin …
UNDERGROUND CITY Beijing
BEIJING: Underground City October 2005 Through a little doorway in a hutong, there lies an entrance to Beijing’s Underground City. The project was started in 1969 and took ten years to build. In reality, it is not a city but a series of damp tunnels constructed under Mao’s orders, to serve as a shelter should …
ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES April 2005
ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES April 2005 In Japan’s New Texts, Lessons in Rising Nationalism By NORIMITSU ONISHI Published: April 17, 2005 in THE NEW YORK TIMES TOKYO — In a region where history remains unresolved, the fight over the past is often a fight over the future. Seldom does it crystallize as perfectly …
Georgetown Penang
Malaysia: Georgetown, Penang Island May 20 – 24, 2006 We’d been traveling pretty fast up till now, just trying to cover a lot of territory. But Malaysia/Singapore was pretty much our last country, so we decided to take our time and really enjoy it. In Malaysia, we first went to a big island called Penang …
Bangkok
Thailand: Bangkok May 5-7, 2006 Thailand is known as the “land of smiles” and everyone lauds the friendliness of the people there. With such high expectations, we were bound to be disappointed. After spending one day in the capital, Bangkok, we decided we hated it. Zac and I are pretty good at navigating new cities …
BUDDHIST SHRINE
BUDDHIST SHRINE November 2005
FORBIDDEN CITY October 2005
BEIJING: Forbidden City October 2005 We passed under Mao’s rosy portrait at the northern end of Tiananmen Square and entered into the Forbidden City, which is now forbidden only to those who can’t afford to fork over the 60 yuan ($7.50) admission fee. The Forbidden City was the abode of the emperors and it was …
Cherating Beach
Malaysia: Cherating Beach May 30 – June 1, 2006 Our next destination was Cherating beach, on the east coast of Malaysia. The bus dropped us off at the side of the road around 10 pm and the driver’s assistant told us to walk down this other dark road for about ten minutes and we’d see …
CHINESE NEW YEAR
CHINESE NEW YEAR / SPRING FESTIVAL 2006
Hangzhou West Lake
China: Hangzhou: West Lake April 2-5, 2006 Hangzhou is a city of 6 million people, near Shanghai. The city is nothing special, but there is a very famous lake here, called “West Lake” that is featured in some famous Chinese poetry. We were here at the perfect time because all the trees were blooming around the …