With 1.4 billion people and 15 cities with over 10 million people each, transportation in China needs to be a well-oiled machine. And it is! All those people are on the move every day with bicycles, scooters (many of them electric), cars (many of them also electric because China has understood that you have to … Continue reading On the Seventh Day of China: Move It, People!
Category: Asia and the Pacific
On the Sixth Day of China: A Job for Everyone
Anyone who has been to China for more than one day would find it difficult to classify China as a communist country. Hell, you don't even need to go to China to know that it's not. Just look at all the billionaires buying up all the property in the United States and Canada. You didn't … Continue reading On the Sixth Day of China: A Job for Everyone
On the Fifth Day of China: Gasping for Air
My weather app indicated full sun the day I flew to Xi'an, and plenty of sun was to be had from 36,000 feet on my flight in, but on the ground, as the photo on the left below demonstrates, no sun was visible. China's air quality issue is well known but until you are in it, you … Continue reading On the Fifth Day of China: Gasping for Air
On the Fourth Day of China: You Can’t Escape Christmas
This was my fifth Christmas spent out of the United States, and my second in a country that does not celebrate Christmas. Supposedly. It turns out that the Chinese love Christmas! On Christmas day, I went out in Xi'an for an amazing dumpling feast. The town was pulsating with energy. People, including cops, were everywhere. … Continue reading On the Fourth Day of China: You Can’t Escape Christmas
On the Third Day of China: Backseat Observing
As mentioned in my last post, I chose to do a package tour for most of this trip, except the last three days that I added on at the end. I'm generally not a package tour person but as a solo traveler for this trip, I liked having some activities planned for me and the … Continue reading On the Third Day of China: Backseat Observing
On the Second Day of China: A Break From My Life
A close friend of mine works for a multinational medical device company, and when her coworkers go to China, they bring special laptops with only what they need for that specific trip. Then those laptops get wiped when they come back. This is not a surprise given China's reputation for having a complete lack of … Continue reading On the Second Day of China: A Break From My Life
On the First Day of China: All the People
I love Boulder. But as I've mentioned before, Boulder is almost 90 percent white and, more importantly than skin color, fairly homogeneous in terms of interests and education level, especially in my group of friends. So, while I went to China to learn about the Chinese, I also talked to everyone I met on the … Continue reading On the First Day of China: All the People
A to Z Blog Challenge Recap
For this year’s A-Z Blog Challenge, I showcased 26 of my favorite places in the world. I didn't do nearly as much writing for the challenge as I did in previous years, but I had a lot of fun going down memory lane, and I hope I've given some readers ideas about wonderful places to … Continue reading A to Z Blog Challenge Recap
железная дорога (2002 – 2006)
Yes, I realize I'm fudging the alphabet a little here because this should technically be under the letter Z, but since the Cyrillic letter looks like an X, let's just go with it. This post is the Railroad! While You Are There: You can do everything on a train. A train is a world unto itself. … Continue reading железная дорога (2002 – 2006)
Wagah Border Park, India (November, 2000)
While You Are There: If you are anywhere in the vicinity of this border crossing in your lifetime, for example if you are visiting Amritsar and the Golden Temple, find the time to go see the ceremony. And tell me if the Niagara Falls cafe is still there. https://youtu.be/TAx5LlPDcbM Why It's On My List: If you've seen … Continue reading Wagah Border Park, India (November, 2000)
Jennifer A Swallow 