BitByTheTravelBug

This day was packed with cultural tours. The class boarded the bus at 8:15 to head out to the Great Wall. The Great Wall was originally built in 200 BC, rebuilt in 100 BC, and rebuilt again in the 1400’s. It opened to the public in 1949 when the military stopped using it to protect the Chinese border. We visited a rebuilt section of the wall, and it is a popular (crowded) section because it is easy to get to. It is very steep in places and reminded me of Dead Woman’s pass on the Inca Trail when we hiked to Machu Picchu. We were stopped several times for photos by Chinese locals. The tour guide said people travel from rural villages to these sites, and this is probably the first time they have seen a ... read more

We visited the top consulting firm in China today and got to ask questions about the Chinese consumer market. We were only there for half the day, so the remainder of the day was free. We ended up going to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heavenfor good harvest. (Wikipedia) It was built in the early 1400’s. We also dressed up as emperors and princesses and took pictures. Afterwards, we went to the Pearl Market, wh... read more

We had our first day of class, which was really just orientation – a campus tour, a Chinese lesson, etc. We got out early, so we were able to explore Beijing a little in the afternoon. We ended up going to a section of old Beijing and walked around the hutongs, or neighborhoods, with shops, restaurants, and bars. We then headed over to a small lake (Houhai) with more shopping. We stayed in a large group of 20 (1/3 of the class!), impressive for a large city like Beijing. We stopped for appetizers, and one of the native speakers ordered food for everyone. We had a flour and egg dish that tastes like sweet dough. It was a favorite dish for the last emperor. We also had a fish dish that looked like a blooming onion, ... read more

Here are a few photos from Day 1 - Singapore... read more

For those that don't know exactly where Singapore and Thailand are... don't worry, I wasn't 100% before I started this course, either. Singapore is at the tip of Malaysia and is a City-State. It has an incredible, booming economy and is a thriving, 1st world economy. Think skyskrapers on a small island with zero traffic, and English is one of the many official languages. Thailand is the only southeast asian country that was never colonized by Europe. Thais take great pride in that. We'll be in Bangkok, then we're heading north to Chiang Mai, then south to the beautiful Thai beaches on an island near Phuket. The Thai language is very difficult - one word can mean many things based on the inflection. For example, maa could be dog, horse, come, or mom. You certainly don't ... read more