Photos
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Three Gorges Dam
China: Three Gorges Dam April 7, 2006 It was big.
Hanoi
VIETNAM: HANOI April 18, 2006 Hanoi is a village masquerading as a city. The streets are narrow and confusing, and there is no downtown. In fact, we’re still wondering where the “city” is. We rode motorcycle taxis out to the US Consulate to get pages added to my passport (it’s filling up–what a delightful problem!) …
Angkor
CAMBODIA: Angkor May 3-5, 2006 We went to Siem Reap to visit the nearby ruins of Angkor. The area has many impressive temples that were built about 1,000 years ago. Some have been restored, but most were falling apart and had trees growing on them. Zac and I were amazed at how they let tourists …
Gyeongju
SOUTH KOREA: Gyeongju May 2005 On Wednesday, we took a bus 365 km southeast to Gyeongju, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla, which controlled most of the Korean Peninsula from the1600s to the 1800s. It is also listed as one of the world’s ten most important ancient cultural cities. To me, it just …
Chiang Mai
Thailand: Chiang Mai May 7-9, 2006 Chiang Mai is a quiet town in northwestern Thailand. There, we rented bikes and rode around by the river, just observing local life and enjoying the peaceful environment. We bought grilled chicken and fresh pineapple at a market for lunch, and Zac got his haircut by a local barber. …
Ko Tao Island
Thailand: Ko Tao Island May 18-19, 2006 We took an overnight ferry to get to Ko Tao island. We arrived at the absurd hour of 5 a.m. and had to wait in the rain until a restaurant opened for breakfast around 6:30. After breakfast, we found a beautiful room facing the sea to stay in. …