been so exhausted lately. hopefully I'm not getting sicks cuz the journey is just beginning tomorrow. some quick updates: in shenzhen, stayed mostly in hotel. next day boarded flight to HeFei, China. Stayed in hefei for several days. hung out with the 'rents and the g'rents. left for yunan, china with dad for 6 day trip: day 1- arrive in lijiang late in the evening. late, tired, raining ugh. day 2- went to ancient city (gu chen) and went to little stores. bought some stuff. went to la shi hai for horse back riding. rode horse for 2 hours. my dad [View Full Entry]

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The moment you step outdoors in Singapore, you are blasted with an incredible, humid heat. Right now, it is 90F ("feels like" 97F), and it is not pleasant at all. It's no wonder that Singaporeans take so kindly to shopping malls, with their air conditioned goodness. Also, I am getting bitten by a gajillion mosquitoes. I don't know how much more I can last at this computer before I dive back into my air-conditioned room. I was up early (see earlier entry), so I snagged some free breakfast from the hostel and chatted with the surfer Jonah, who had spent a [View Full Entry]

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And so my Tokyo leg comes to an end. Tokyo is a fantastic place that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime, preferably when they're still young enough to appreciate all the hustle and bustle. I may not have travelled enough to compare Tokyo to other cities, but it really strikes me as a place of extremes. Walking around urban Tokyo you won't see a single bit of greenery. During morning rush hour, literally everyone on the train is dressed up in suits. And for such a crowded city, it is meticulously clean, with an army of older service [View Full Entry]

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Whew, what a day. My $45 capsule hotel has been the most luxurious experience I have ever had. But I'm getting ahead of myself, so let's start from the beginning of the day I woke up at 6 in the morning, and was unable to get back to sleep; my body still thinks it:s 7PM (NY time). Luckily, it turns out that Thierry is also awake, so we decide to get an early breakfast (McDonalds... thank goodness for globalization). Afterwards, we trek through Asakusa, seeing some ridiculous architecture and temples. I threw in a ￥100 coin （~$1） and prayed for a [View Full Entry]

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After some frantic last minute packing (I'm packing light enough to fit everything in one backpack!), and some issues at Airport security (about 4 different people looked through my luggage... once to examine my iodine water purification thing and another for a "random security check"), I arrived in Tokyo in one piece. I had planned out a whole Jet-lag-prevention strategy that entailed sleeping on the entire flight to Japan, but I just couldn't fall asleep... so I ended up watching a bunch of Japanese movies to get myself in the mood for Japan (I highly recommend "Heaven's Gate" and "20th Cent [View Full Entry]

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Currently on Day 5 in Hong Kong. Past few days have been a blur, rushing from one tourist spot to another, so let me just recap quickly (might be mispellings): 6/10 - depart from Washington DC. Everything went smoothly. Watched 3 AWFUL movies -- Paul Blart, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Last Chance HArvey. Finally, arrival in Hong Kong. 6/11 - transport to our hotel in Yau Ma Tei. The room is the size of my thumb, but it's very clean. Maybe all living spaces in Hong Kong are this small. Spent the evening walking around the outdoor markets and Nathan [View Full Entry]

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