Blogs from Asia - page 4

Monday, May 20, 2013 (Chengdu) The best laid plans often need to be changed, maybe even more often here in West China. If that frustrates you too much, you probably won’t survive here. If you adapt, it may present opportunity you never imagined possible. With that foreshadowing... The symposium ran overtime. Admittedly we had started a bit later than anticipated, grabbed a quick sandwich before heading to the SPPH for our meetings. Initially scheduled at 2:00 pm, we arrived around 2:30, but the CCEW team was still at the TCL hotel. The van went to pick them up and after a brief delay we began our meeting. In a rather formal looking atmosphere reminiscent of an international peace negotiation, we sat at long tables, covered in dark green tablecloths, with microphones and each team member’s name ... read more

Jooo chicos, Vanaf nu draait alles rond water; vanuit Phnom Penh vertrokken met de 'speed'boot op de Mekong rivier richting Vietnam! En ook als je via t water gaat, passeer je de grens post. Ff aanmeren in de Cambodiaanse en daarna bij de Vietnamese paar honderd meter verderop. Strangely enough verzamelen ze alle paspoorten van de passagiers, verdwijnen ze daar even mee en geven die beke later terug. Beke onwennig om af te geven en beke grappig dat ze uw gezicht ni moeten zien bij de controle ;) smokkelen is ook geen probleem voor wie duistere ambities heeft, want uwe rugzak blijft onaangeraakt op de boot liggen ;) Daarna slaan we een zijrivier van de Mekong in en dobberen tot in Chau Doc, een stad aan het water. Kindjes zitten vrolijk in het water te spelen ... read more

Oh Thailand! This was probably my favorite trip we've taken in the two years we've been out here. We got a little bit of everything- a big vibrant city, northern lands with elephants, and beautiful beaches! After a brief 2 night stay in Bangkok, we flew north to Chiang Mai. I loved Chiang Mai as soon as I stepped outside the airport. The weather was reminiscent of a summer day in Northern California. Mild in the morning, hot in the afternoon, yet NOT humid, and cooler in the shade (as opposed to Nam, where even in the shade sweat is rolling down my back!). And I knew I liked our hotel when I saw the sign out by the ornate entrance that said, "No Durian". When planning out trip, Brian and I had a bit of ... read more

On arrival at Male International Airport which is situated on one of the islands of the Maldives, we were smoothly transferred to a nearby seaplane port for our 30 minute flight to Vilamendhoo Island. There were a number of 18-seater DeHavilland Twin Otter Seaplanes waiting at the port but ours was delayed so we had a little wait before we boarded. It had also started to rain heavily whilst we waited to board but luckily it eased off before we took off. Once on board the seaplane quickly glided across the ocean and we had tremendous views of numerous little islands, as well as a clear view of the capital town of Male. We were lucky as the seaplane transfer gave us an amazing perspective on the atolls, islands, reefs and lagoons as we flew low ... read more