I've finally settled back in the US, time zone change and all. My time in China surpassed my high expectations - I had an amazing time. With the Olympic events, late-night clubbing, 2-hour massages, new friends, old friends, new food, and familiar food - we had a superb two weeks in China.
From the 4,000+ photos, I've narrowed them down to two albums:
China: http://picasaweb.google.com/alecdet/China
Olympics: http://picasaweb.google.com/alecdet/Olympics
This marks the end of my incredible summer, which took me to nine countries throughout Europe and Asia. I had been planning for this summer ever since I knew I was going to business school three years ago, and it certainly exceeded everything I had hoped for. I am excited about the new friends that I made on my travels, and will always remember the fun times we had together. I'm not sure when/if I'll ever get to travel like this again, but perhaps I can try...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Good bye, Beijing
the lobby of the Central Garden Hotel, where we spent the last few
nights in Beijing
Monday, August 25, 2008
Great Wall
It was a little foggy, but we had great views of the hillsides and
valley below.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
More blogging
If you haven't checked our Ron's blog in a while, he has posted
several funny stories, and some of my photos and video: http://ron-fun.blogspot.com
several funny stories, and some of my photos and video: http://ron-fun.blogspot.com
Saturday, August 23, 2008
CELEBRITY STATUS
NOT TO BE OUTDONE
Above: Picture of Alec Detwiler and his new found Chinese family.
Watching this scene unfold was hilarious. The lady asked Alec 3 times to take a picture with her child. At first we thought that she wanted him to take a picture FOR her, but in the end it was that she wanted to take a picture WITH him. Don't they look like they were meant to be?
Above: Picture of Alec Detwiler and his new found Chinese family.
Watching this scene unfold was hilarious. The lady asked Alec 3 times to take a picture with her child. At first we thought that she wanted him to take a picture FOR her, but in the end it was that she wanted to take a picture WITH him. Don't they look like they were meant to be?
Inside the Bird's Nest
corner!
Friday, August 22, 2008
In Beijing
Shanghai. We are now checking out the finals of the Modern Pentathlon.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Blogging
RonFun is also blogging our travels in China. You can check it out at: http://ron-fun.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 18, 2008
Zhou Zhuang
preserved over a century ago. It sits on the edge of a large lake,
and has canals running through it. They call it the "Venice of China".
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Dim Sum
restaurant, tasting the bean curd jelly thingy (loose translation).
Several famous leaders have dined here, including Nixon and H.W. Bush.
China trip update
It's hard to beleive that only three days have gone by on our trip; we have had a lot of fun and many adventures as the cultural acclimization continues. Our first day started with sightseeing on Victoria Peak, then across the harbor to Kowloon to check out Star Avenue (Chinese version of Walk of Fame). The view from Victoria Peak was incredible - the density of skyscrapers is impressive along with the architectual variety. At dinner that evening, sectionmate Matt Payne joined us as we celebrated the first night of the trip (and only night in Hong Kong). The night continued to a couple bars, Prive dance club, and late-night restaurant. We met a number of ex-pats along the way.
On our second day, we took a bus to Shenzhen (45 minutes away) to enter mainland China for the first time. Shenzhen is a massive city (14 million people!), with an impressive skyline. We spent the afternoon at the headquarters of China Vante, the largest real estate developer in China. We toured a few showrooms then spoke with a few execs. That night (Friday night), we hung out at a nice club, Richy, near our hotel, Lushan hotel. We partied in style with reserved tables, bottle service, and a new drink for me... johnnie walker and green tea.
Today was an incredibly relaxing day. We started with a late 10 am start, then stopped by Lianhua mountain (hill) for a nice view of Shenzhen. We then drove to a private beach 45 min east of Shenzhen for a few hours of fun in the sun, playing a modified-game of beach volleyball (inspired by the olympics no doubt). Along the way we drove by Shenzhen's massive shipping port, the third largest in the world.
In the evening, we had a nice Shanghai-style dinner, then proceeded to one of Shenzhen's signature spa & massage complexes. This was quite an experience. In short, I had the best massage of my life - a 2-hour body massage. I also received a 45-min foot massage while watching the olympics (saw the 100M final), and being brought drinks and watermellon.
The food so far has been great. We have enjoyed several styles of Chinese cuisine (Cantonese, Szechuan, and Shanghai), and most of the dishes are completely new to me. Some of the more memorable items include sea cucumber and pig nuckles. We have had pork, chicken, and duck served in ways that didn't look like pork, chicken, or duck. Some of the fun drinks include a sweetened herbal tea (apparently the "Chinese Coke") and a sweet rice wine served warm (very similar to sake).
Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai, after a Dim Sum brunch at a rotating restaurant atop one of Shenzhen's many skyscrapers.
On our second day, we took a bus to Shenzhen (45 minutes away) to enter mainland China for the first time. Shenzhen is a massive city (14 million people!), with an impressive skyline. We spent the afternoon at the headquarters of China Vante, the largest real estate developer in China. We toured a few showrooms then spoke with a few execs. That night (Friday night), we hung out at a nice club, Richy, near our hotel, Lushan hotel. We partied in style with reserved tables, bottle service, and a new drink for me... johnnie walker and green tea.
Today was an incredibly relaxing day. We started with a late 10 am start, then stopped by Lianhua mountain (hill) for a nice view of Shenzhen. We then drove to a private beach 45 min east of Shenzhen for a few hours of fun in the sun, playing a modified-game of beach volleyball (inspired by the olympics no doubt). Along the way we drove by Shenzhen's massive shipping port, the third largest in the world.
In the evening, we had a nice Shanghai-style dinner, then proceeded to one of Shenzhen's signature spa & massage complexes. This was quite an experience. In short, I had the best massage of my life - a 2-hour body massage. I also received a 45-min foot massage while watching the olympics (saw the 100M final), and being brought drinks and watermellon.
The food so far has been great. We have enjoyed several styles of Chinese cuisine (Cantonese, Szechuan, and Shanghai), and most of the dishes are completely new to me. Some of the more memorable items include sea cucumber and pig nuckles. We have had pork, chicken, and duck served in ways that didn't look like pork, chicken, or duck. Some of the fun drinks include a sweetened herbal tea (apparently the "Chinese Coke") and a sweet rice wine served warm (very similar to sake).
Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai, after a Dim Sum brunch at a rotating restaurant atop one of Shenzhen's many skyscrapers.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Chillin' with Deng
leader, Deng Xiaoping, as he overlooks his crowning accomplistment
(?), Shenzhen
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Heading west to the Far East
of classmates. We start in Hong Kong, and will also spend time in
Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing. I'm excited to see China up close
and take photos of the Great Wall. We also plan to see some Olympic
events as well. I hope to post often, as long as I don't get censored...
View from my room
The view from our new apartment is pretty spectacular. Here are two sunset shots from my room taken in my first week here. I hope to share many more sunset photos in the future.
Photo time
I've been back in the Bay Area the last couple weeks catching up with friends and family, and getting moved into the new apartment. I finally uploaded most of my France and Belgium photos... but there's more to go through later. Tomorrow, I start my last trip of the summer, heading to China for two weeks.
France and Belgium Photos
France and Belgium Photos
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