Blogs from Dalian, Liaoning, China, Asia - page 5

Most of our colleagues at Maple Leaf planned on hitting the beaches of southeast Asia and other tropical places, but how can we leave China without experiencing the ultimate Chinese festival?? Spring Festival (Chinese New Years) in China was the goal for this year's winter holiday. That plus our good friends from Calgary wanting to spend some of their travel time with us set the agenda for our five week winter holiday. Richard and Buff arrived on January 13 -it was so great to spend some time with friends from home and show them where we live and work. They loved the small restaurants and local markets despite little or no heat in the -15 C weather. Good thing they brought down jackets, gloves and scarves. Little did we know that they would be still ... read more

Merry Christmas - these are a few pictures of our Christmas season. When I look at them, it is no wonder that we feel like we never have any relax time! But so much fun. We have loved keeping in touch with so many friends and family over the holiday season. Hearing news and seeing pictures of babies, birthdays, and homecooked Christmas dinners makes us feel like we are not so far away. ... read more

Après trop de weekends de suite passés à risquer notre vie dans les taxis endiablés de la ville aux milles klaxons, il était grand temps de planifier une escapade sous le thème de "escape from Shenyang". La destination choisie: Dalian, une ville côtière à environ 4 heures de Shenyang célèbre pour ses madames folles qui se baignent dans de l'eau à 4 degrés, pour ses caniches moches portant des chaussures et ses statues déviantes. Mais bon, les guides touristiques vous diront autre chose...mais je crois que je suis plus proche de la vérité!!!... read more

so we arrived in xi'an, i gave a gift from my tea girl to her father at the airport. after that we went to HanYangLing Mausoleum, it is the only museum where you could go downstairs and stand on glass to see what were buried for Emperor's afterlife. that was the impressive! later that day we finished my going to Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is the most famous and popular Buddhist temple in Xi'an. then we ate at the most amazing buffet dinner ever at our amazing hotel. it was a great day! the next day we woke up early, had breakfast and then headed out for the day. we first stopped at a factory that makes terra-cotta warriors like they use to in the ancient days. then off to the Terra-cotta Army Museum. the ... read more

so we got to Beijing on a thursday night. headed to the hotel and then went to their buffet for dinner. it was the best buffet i ever remember going to! Indian, Japanese, Chinese, and American food. it was delicious! i typically am not a buffet person, but this one was wicked good. the next day we woke up early and had breakfast. then we headed out to the Forbidden City. that was pretty interesting. i took a lot of pictures, and fought my way through the crowds to get good pictures. after that we went to the square across the street. it was by some government buildings. then off to the silk market! i love shopping here, everything is so cheap. i am also pretty damn good at bartering. i got shoes, jeans, a belt ... read more