Since Sean only had one more day to see all that Shanghai had to offer with me, I was hell-bent to make sure he saw the best. In my opinion, this involved Xiao long bao from Shanghai’s most famous restaurant. Turns out it also involved a guy in a Yankees jacket. Check out the full story below! Continue reading
Have I told you yet how much I love Asia? It’s true – I can’t deny it. And let’s face it, instead of being a cash strapped college student traveling around Asia, I was traveling in style like never before. Surprisingly though, the more affluent visitors to China get just as down and dirty as the backpackers living in hostels. Their days in Shanghai involve back alleys and calculators! Continue reading
Three and a half years since I’d embarked on the study abroad adventure of a lifetime to Hong Kong, China and yet my heart still ached to go back. Through nothing short of divine intervention, I found myself in circumstance making the miraculous happen and I was going back to Asia! Shanghai here I come! The question was, would I return this time? Continue reading
The final days saga continues. No matter how many years go by since my study abroad, whenever I look back over these posts, it seems as vivid to me as if it happened yesterday. Don’t miss it – there’s a very fancy, schmancy date to be had! Continue reading
I had only a vague idea of what might be in store for us when we made it to Shanghai after the heavy-handed communist feeling that permeated Beijing. It was quite different from Beijing, to say the least. Continue reading
Note to self: Getting food poisoning 24 hours prior to hiking over three miles on the Great Wall of China is not a good idea. Not good at all. Did I make it? Find out now. Continue reading
When we last left off, I’d just arrived in Beijing to the biggest culture shock yet. Let’s see if it got better – this was supposed to be the wildest spring break of my life! Continue reading
This spring break was unlike any other break I ever took during college – and for good reason! It was in mainland China! I hope you enjoy reading about food poisoning, hiking one of the manmade wonders of the world and traveling like I’ve never traveled before. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was still incredible. Continue reading
This field trip still boggles my mind to this day. If you’ve ever taken a class field trip, wipe any preconceived notions you may have, because they don’t come close to rivaling this journey into the heart of a rural Chinese village. Prepare for nearly live lunches, gigantic ancestral shrines and more food than anyone should consume in a 2-day period. Continue reading
Now to pick up where I left off – Part 2 of our first trip to mainland China: Guangzhou.
March 1, 2010
There was a little drama at the Guangzhou train terminal, because two of our girlfriends, Soohyun and Ilaria, didn’t get off the train at the right stop, luckily, they were able to contact us even though normal Hong Kong SIM cards don’t work in mainland China, and get back on the returning train just 20 minutes later. We found our hostel, which was super nice and clean and safe, without much trouble or asking people on the streets, checked in, were directed to yet another cheap and delicious restaurant a 5-minute walk from our accommodations (there was absolutely no English or pictures on that menu, but thankfully Angela and Soo knew enough to order great food for us all). We walked along a street right beside a river running through Guangzhou, which the hostel was situated on before collapsing for the night. Continue reading
Vittles and Voyages 