Blogs from Dandong, Liaoning, China, Asia - page 2

I came in on time just I had promised only this time I had all my luggage and accurately told the cab driver to go to the Sun Island Bath House (right next door), getting me there in one shot and for only 5 kuai as opposed to my random 10+ kuai trips the previous day. They greeted me and introduced me to Director Ai. This guy is a hoot; he's shorter and round and has the most maniacal laugh ever. He always seems like he's up to something. But anyway, he took me on a trip around town to the Sun Fortune Center where I saw my soon to be apartment that would be ready that afternoon. We then visited the Sun Towers (also owned by the company) and I got to see a model ... read more

Today, I woke up early to reserve another night at the hotel just in case my boss forgot about my arrival. Turns out that was a good idea because I wouldn't having an apartment until the next day. After trekking around the city on 3 cabs because no one knew where to find the Huiyouhuayuan Tower, I finally made it around 9:30 am. I met the two secretaries who had taken care of my arrangements and was instructed to just go hang out until 3pm (seems to be the norm at this company based on previous e-mail correspondence). I went back to the Canadian coffee shop where I met the owner, Kevin, and learned that the shop was named after his son, Peter. After enjoying myself for a few hours, Miss Zheng called to invite me ... read more

So barely slept last night in the comfortable hotel I had in Beijing. Now, I get to say in the world's most uninternational "international" hotel. Let's rewind a tick and gather recap the morning. Woke up at 5:00, packed and checked out a little before 6, walked a few blocks, hopped on the the #5 to Lama Temple and then the #2 to Dongzhimen where I took the long march to catch the airport express to catch my 8am flight to Dandong. Got to the airport around 7 only to find, as always, long lines everywhere I looked. I went to a domestic ticket counter where I waited 5th in line of about 23 for 35 minutes because once again, some people do not know how to queue properly and it seemed like 1 in 3 ... read more

Dangdong, the city from Liaoning province in China, border city to North Korea, after visiting South Korea in last month, I want to see how is north side, and they told me that was a scheme to get in North Korea from Chinese side, let's see it!! First of all, we arrived in Shenyang, the capital from Liaoning province, there is the origin of Man ethnic of China, which created the last empire of China, Qing. So there is a mini forbidden city, the style is the same to Beijing's one, just much smaller. Visiting the museums there in Liaoning, we saw basically two events, Japanese invasion and Helping North Korea against U.S.A. From the museum we can realize how Chinese doesn't like Japanese, showing so many cruelties made by Japanese against Chinese, and with my ... read more

With Harbin immensely enjoyed, it was on to the final destination of our little vacation, Dandong, before returning to teaching life. I like to research a location before visiting and Dandong was no different. I knew there were good views to be had into North Korea and also a sparsely visited stretch of the Great Wall of China. I’d also read several accounts from other travellers who had found a very thin stretch of the Yalu River that separates the two countries and had waded across. Hearing of the recent trouble several American citizens had found themselves in when crossing illegally in to North Korea, I wasn’t so sure I’d be willing to risk wasting several months of my life in a North Korean prison just to put foot on this secretive country’s soil. With a ... read more