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".
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
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Next stop, Belgium
Chambord (above), then drove to Paris. Today we head to Bruges for
three nights
Friday, July 25, 2008
Lunch in Vouvray
in Vouvray! I had a delicious cheese plate for dessert.
Highway robbery
tank. I can't wait to get back to $5/gallon
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Adventures on the road
No roadtrip would be complete without a little adventure. In short, our engine oil was low, so we put in some new oil. However, determining the right grade of oil, hours on the phone with Avis support, and googling our own solutions made for some fun times. In the end, it took a few days to resolve the situation, but it worked just fine (well.. we think).
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Our Tour de France
We are now on our the third day of our Tour De France. We are currently in Dinan in the Brittany region of France. We spent the last few days in Normandy, staying at Chateau Colombieres We were minutes from Omaha Beach, of D-Day.
The rest of our time in Paris was great. We had a nice dinner our last night at Benoit (4eme), where we had the ultimate French cuisine - escargot, duck foie gras, truffles, casoulet, veal saute, and a few desserts "to share". I also had two full nights of nighttime pictures in Paris, getting a few shots of the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, Hotel d'Ville, Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, and the Seine. Sumner and I hiked to the top of Sacre Coeur (including the dome), and had a nice view of Paris. One afternoon we met up with Virginie for lunch and then had a coffee at her Mom's place. Alex joined us for 3 days, and we travelled to some of her favorite shops, including two perfumeries. On evening, we had an HBS dinner with 10 HBSers - it was nice to enjoy dinner with the HBS crowd, sans HBS. The Musee Rodin had a beautiful garden with had most of the "must see" pieces (Gates of Hell, Thinker, Burghers of Calais).
We are now on day four of a seven day roadtrip through three regions of France: Normandy, Brittany, and Loire Valley. We were upgraded to a nice Mercedes E220 with GPS, and have had fun enjoying the beautiful French countryside. On the drive out to Normandy, we stopped at Giverny, where Monet lived for a while and installed a pond with the infamous water lilies and japanese bridge. Our first couple days in Normandy, we explored many of the WWII memorials, cemeteries, and battle sites. It was sobering to contemplate the number of people who died there. We also visited a couple small towns including Bayeux. One meal, I enjoyed an "whelts" (Bulots in french), where was a plate of sea snails, served steamed with mayonnaise - they tasted like corn, but were a little more rubbery than escargot. Yummy!
The rest of our time in Paris was great. We had a nice dinner our last night at Benoit (4eme), where we had the ultimate French cuisine - escargot, duck foie gras, truffles, casoulet, veal saute, and a few desserts "to share". I also had two full nights of nighttime pictures in Paris, getting a few shots of the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, Hotel d'Ville, Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, and the Seine. Sumner and I hiked to the top of Sacre Coeur (including the dome), and had a nice view of Paris. One afternoon we met up with Virginie for lunch and then had a coffee at her Mom's place. Alex joined us for 3 days, and we travelled to some of her favorite shops, including two perfumeries. On evening, we had an HBS dinner with 10 HBSers - it was nice to enjoy dinner with the HBS crowd, sans HBS. The Musee Rodin had a beautiful garden with had most of the "must see" pieces (Gates of Hell, Thinker, Burghers of Calais).
We are now on day four of a seven day roadtrip through three regions of France: Normandy, Brittany, and Loire Valley. We were upgraded to a nice Mercedes E220 with GPS, and have had fun enjoying the beautiful French countryside. On the drive out to Normandy, we stopped at Giverny, where Monet lived for a while and installed a pond with the infamous water lilies and japanese bridge. Our first couple days in Normandy, we explored many of the WWII memorials, cemeteries, and battle sites. It was sobering to contemplate the number of people who died there. We also visited a couple small towns including Bayeux. One meal, I enjoyed an "whelts" (Bulots in french), where was a plate of sea snails, served steamed with mayonnaise - they tasted like corn, but were a little more rubbery than escargot. Yummy!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Paris at night...
We are now on our fifth day in Paris and our having a great time. I have a more detailed update coming soon, but I wanted to share a few pics I took tonight. I was really looking forward to taking a few shots at night, and Paris did not disappoint. Chitra (pictured) joined me for the photo trip. Here are just a few photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/alecdet/ParisPreView
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Bonjour!
70 degreea. Our hotel, Hotel des Archives, is located in the Marais
district - just a few blocks from a lot of cool restaurants, shops,
patisseries, etc. We spent our first half day nursing our jetlag, and
taking care of Chitra, who has been a bit sick. Today, we slept in
and watched the Bastille Day military parade on TV, but saw the
military planes (fighter jets, AWACS, prop cargo planes...C130?,
attack helicoters, transport helicopters, etc) fly by our window. It
was impressive to see the heads of state joining Sarkozy to watch the
parade, including Merkel. Mubarak, Ban Ki Moon, and the Syrian leader.
In the afternoon, we made our way to the modern art museum, Centre
Pompidou (pictured above), which had provactive artwork as well as
some classics. We finished Bastille Day drinking in solidarity with
the other Parisians at a few cafes near our place.
Alex joined us in the afternoon, so we now have a group of four
enjoying beautiful Paris together.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Photo time!!
With hours to go before my next travels, I finally uploaded my photos from last trip. Here are my photos from my June travels:
Italy Trek - Places
Italy Trek - Faces
St. Petersburg
Kiev
Tomorrow morning, I fly out to France for my next set of adventures. I'll spend two weeks in France, then a few days in Belgium before heading back to SF. I plan to post to this blog often - this is much easier and more fun than updating my old travel journal. Bon voyage!
Italy Trek - Places
Italy Trek - Faces
St. Petersburg
Kiev
Tomorrow morning, I fly out to France for my next set of adventures. I'll spend two weeks in France, then a few days in Belgium before heading back to SF. I plan to post to this blog often - this is much easier and more fun than updating my old travel journal. Bon voyage!
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Rest Stop
I'm finally back to the US, relaxing in California and preparing my move into my new place in San Francisco. My travels the last two months have been wonderful. I've never traveled so much in a two month time-frame, and will probably never do so again.
The top three highlights for me were:
1: Petra. I first visited Petra when I was 4, and have always wanted to go back. Walking through the Sikh to come upon the Treasury is the second coolest sight I've seen (hiking down to Machu Picchu at Sunrise is still #1).
2: Caves Monastery. The ancient caves along the Dnieper river are really a series of ancient underground corridors where priests over the centuries were mummified. It was pretty incredible to walk along the small passage ways with only a candle to light the way, and sounds of praying pilgrims.
3: Italy. The entire HBS Italy trek was extraordinary. We ate like kings, partied the rock stars, slept in castles, drank the best Italian wines, and lived la dolce vita to its fullest. Existing friendships were strengthened, and new friendships were formed on this once-in-a-lifetime trip.
So, since I'm a numbers guys, here's the count for May and June. 25 flights between 21 different airports took me to 8 countries. These 8 countries had 8 languages using one of four alphabets (Roman, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew). I slept in 15 different hotels, resting in no city for more than 5 nights. I used 6 different currencies, and took over 5,000 photos along the way. I'll post a few of them soon!
The top three highlights for me were:
1: Petra. I first visited Petra when I was 4, and have always wanted to go back. Walking through the Sikh to come upon the Treasury is the second coolest sight I've seen (hiking down to Machu Picchu at Sunrise is still #1).
2: Caves Monastery. The ancient caves along the Dnieper river are really a series of ancient underground corridors where priests over the centuries were mummified. It was pretty incredible to walk along the small passage ways with only a candle to light the way, and sounds of praying pilgrims.
3: Italy. The entire HBS Italy trek was extraordinary. We ate like kings, partied the rock stars, slept in castles, drank the best Italian wines, and lived la dolce vita to its fullest. Existing friendships were strengthened, and new friendships were formed on this once-in-a-lifetime trip.
So, since I'm a numbers guys, here's the count for May and June. 25 flights between 21 different airports took me to 8 countries. These 8 countries had 8 languages using one of four alphabets (Roman, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew). I slept in 15 different hotels, resting in no city for more than 5 nights. I used 6 different currencies, and took over 5,000 photos along the way. I'll post a few of them soon!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Beautiful Kiev
The sightseeing around Kiev has been fascinating. We started with the caves at an old monastery...which is one of the most important places for Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The caves are actually small passages, lined with mummified saints and church hierachy from centuries ago. There is little light, so you buy a candle to light your way. Most people stopped at each body to say a prayer. We then made our way to Rodina Mat (previously blogged) and the WWII museum, located in her pedestal.
Today, we visited two churches. St. Sophia was one of the most interesting orthodox churches I've seen. Built in the 11th century, the original structure is possible to see, including pieces of the original mosaic floor. The adjacent belfry offered a stunning view of Kiev and plenty of photo ops. St. Michael's (pictured above) was completely re-construcuted; Stalin bombed the original. We then made our way down to Podil (the lower city) where we visited two museums. The first, the One Street Museum, was a fascinating collection of letters, books, clothing, pictures, etc reflecting the pre-Soviet lives of Kievians. We also visits the Chernobyl museum; appropriately stark and depressing.
Last night, I had dinner with some of Rob's friends (Fulbright fellows), then made it to a bar to watch the intense Russia-Spain Eurocup semi-final. The bar crowd was mixed between their support of Russia, which seems appropriate given the mixed sentiment of Ukranians.
Also interesting was a huge EU flag (maybe 60 ft) on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Despite their desire, Ukraine is nowhere close to being part of the EU, but a tentative WTO deal, talks with NATO, and the presumptuous flag seems to unequivocally state the capitalistic, democratic direction of Ukraine.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Hey Mom, I met someone in Ukraine
commemorates the Soviet victory in WWII. Her name literally means
"mother of the motherland." She's a little quiet, but has a lot of
personality.
In Ukraine
way to the city center of of Kiev. The weather is perfect here. I'm
staying at the Hotel Ukraina (pictured above) which sits above
Independence Square (where the Orange Revolution in 2004 took place).
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Leaving St. Petersburg
heading to Kiev, where I will spend four days with a friend.
My last day was great. After sleeping in for the first time in weeks,
I headed to Peterhof with Masha. We took the hydro-foil up the Neva
River and across the Gulf of Finland. Peterhof was pretty amazing,
and the fountains (pictured above) were spectacular... easily the most
impressive fountains I have ever seen - I took a few (hundred)
photos. Inside the palace, I saw a number of pieces created by the
Fabergé workshop, including one of the infamous Fabergé eggs...
exquisite (Aunt Jan, I thought of you!). Masha had to leave Peterhof
early to catch her train back to Moscow, so I spent a couple relaxing
hours walking around the beautiful gardens.
St. Petersburg definitely met my expectations as one of the most
beautiful cities in the world. The architecture and interiors of the
various palaces were inspired by the best of Western Europe (marble
columns, gilded everything, enormous frescoes, sprawling gardens,
etc), .... but retained their own luxurious Tsarist flare. The
Hermitage museum is second only to the Louvre (there were rooms of
Matisse, Picaso, Rodin, Monet, etc). The city life itself is vibrant,
as exhibited by the spontaneous, jubilant street celebrations after
Russia won the Eurocup semi-finals. The metro was fantastic -
extremely efficient, clean, easy to get around (if you can read a
little Cyrillic), and deep (supposedly the deepest in the world... on
some escalators, you couldn't see one end from one end to the other).
Despite the lifeless (yet customary) stares on the metro, most people
I met were nice and helpful.
Monday, June 23, 2008
All about presentation
mini fish tank (those are live fish).... absolutely insane.
White Nights... St. Petersburg
"home-made lemonade" on this floating open-air restaurant on the Neva
river. Hydro-foils are going by every 10 minutes, shuffling tourists
to Peterhof. We've had an awesome few days in St. Petersburg: good
food, late nights, amazing palaces, beautiful churches, fascinating
metros, and lots of photos.
Friday, June 20, 2008
So far so good
Just landed in St. Petersburg, and luggage made it. I'm taking a cab
ride to the hotel. It's dusk... but almost 1 AM - White Nights is
upon us. First impressions of St. P is that it is more clean and
Western than Moscow, yet absolutely Russian. Wow, just drove past a
30 ft statue of Lenin (which I guess you don't see too often in the
West, unless you visit Rob).
ride to the hotel. It's dusk... but almost 1 AM - White Nights is
upon us. First impressions of St. P is that it is more clean and
Western than Moscow, yet absolutely Russian. Wow, just drove past a
30 ft statue of Lenin (which I guess you don't see too often in the
West, unless you visit Rob).
--
Sent from my iPhone
Next...
Currently 4:15 am on a winding road, on Costierra Amalfitana. We had
a great last night. After an incredible cliff side dinner, we enjoyed
a midnight swim in the sea after a bonfire on the beach, after playing
games. It has been an incredible trip inwe Italy, and sadly it has
come to an end. Deena, Mike, Tanya and I are sharing a cab to the
Napoli airport. Next stop... St. Petersburg!
--
Sent from my iPhone
a great last night. After an incredible cliff side dinner, we enjoyed
a midnight swim in the sea after a bonfire on the beach, after playing
games. It has been an incredible trip inwe Italy, and sadly it has
come to an end. Deena, Mike, Tanya and I are sharing a cab to the
Napoli airport. Next stop... St. Petersburg!
--
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Amalfi Coast
classmate's villa in Cassino. We made it to Positano for sunset and
dinner, where we watched the Italy vs France soccer game (initial
round of the Euro cup.... you could feel the entire country hold their
breath as Italy faced elimination if they lost). Today, we visited
the towns of Amalfi and Ravello (above photo) - both incredibly
picturesque with the dramatic cliffs of the Amalfi Coast I'm the
background. Tomorrow, we head by boat to Capri island for the day.
Every view is incredible here.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Elba Island
great. The warm weather complements the sleepy beach towns that we
have visited. Yesterday, we took a boat around the island, stopping
at a coves along the way for a couple short swims. We saw a school of
dolphins along the way. It was completely relaxing to stare at the
sea for a few hours, and let my mind wander. Above is the view of our
pool, where we had a fancy, multi-course dinner the first night.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Lamborghini
On our trip from Milano to Elba Island, we stopped by the Lamborghini
factory and museum. It was absolutely incredible. On the factory
tour we walked through a parking lot of 40-50 Lamborghinis....
absolutely insane. Retail price starts at 250,000 Euros for the
current model, Lamborghini Murcielago. Only 2,000 are made each year,
and there's a one-year waiting list. Every detail on the car can be
customized, and every car is customized (each is made to order). One
of the crazier customizations was all-crocodile seats. The cars were
beautiful and impressive. The current model uses a V-12, 640
horsepower engine, and can go zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds. The assembly
line was rather simple - almost nothing mechanized-these cars are
really hand made.
factory and museum. It was absolutely incredible. On the factory
tour we walked through a parking lot of 40-50 Lamborghinis....
absolutely insane. Retail price starts at 250,000 Euros for the
current model, Lamborghini Murcielago. Only 2,000 are made each year,
and there's a one-year waiting list. Every detail on the car can be
customized, and every car is customized (each is made to order). One
of the crazier customizations was all-crocodile seats. The cars were
beautiful and impressive. The current model uses a V-12, 640
horsepower engine, and can go zero to 60 in 3.2 seconds. The assembly
line was rather simple - almost nothing mechanized-these cars are
really hand made.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Milano
pleasant walking tour of the city, then a nice aperitivo, followed by
an incredible dinner. In the late evening, we wandered by a few
cafes, enjoyed a couple more bottles of wine, then made it back to the
hotel. The above photo is of the impressive Galleria.
Monday, June 09, 2008
June adventures
With graduation behind me... I am about to embark on another round of
travels for three weeks. I will start with an 11-day trek in Italy,
organized by my Italian classmates, which should be incredible. I
then head to Russia for 5 days to enjoy the White Nights festival in
St. Petersburg, which should be amazing. I'll end the June travels in
Ukraine, where I'll rendevous with my friend Rob. Then back to SF to
get moved into to my new place. I hope to continue posting blog
updates throughout my travels.
travels for three weeks. I will start with an 11-day trek in Italy,
organized by my Italian classmates, which should be incredible. I
then head to Russia for 5 days to enjoy the White Nights festival in
St. Petersburg, which should be amazing. I'll end the June travels in
Ukraine, where I'll rendevous with my friend Rob. Then back to SF to
get moved into to my new place. I hope to continue posting blog
updates throughout my travels.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Photo time!
I finally got a chance to post my photos from Jordan and Israel:
http://picasaweb.google.com/alecdet/JordanAndIsrael
Enjoy!
Alec
http://picasaweb.google.com/alecdet/JordanAndIsrael
Enjoy!
Alec
Friday, June 06, 2008
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