China in Pictures

I leave China in one week! It has been an interesting few months. Overall, I have enjoyed the experience, though it was no place I have ever lived before.

Here is what I've been up to here:

Taking the sleeper train to Yellow Mountain

The gang at our first and last day at SIMBA

Having McDonald's delivered (yes, delivered!) to celebrate our last day of class. We also celebrated with Twizzler straws in our cocktails! Our last professor was American, and brought Twizzlers for the class. He gave the extras to Cassie and I.

Watching people dance on the bar while out with Cassie and Liz.

1 pound street noodles. So delicious

Out with classmates

Teaching classmates to flip coasters at the bar

Live music in Xintiandi, one of my favorite areas of Shanghai

Relaxing at the "beach" on the Bund

Another dinner with classmates!

So much delicious food!

Supply Chain Management simulation (I promise I did some learning!)

Cramming 5 people into a cab

Hot pot!

First Chinese style diner

Kim sampling some of the "most delicious" duck

Carving the duck

First day of school

The building for SIMBA at Tongji University

Kim helping the waitresses at our go-to lunch restaurant with the English translations

The night we all arrived

First Subway ride

Xiaolongbao, my favorite dumplings

The Bund

The Bund at night

Temple at West Lake

West Lake

On top of another temple near West Lake

Iced Green Tea Latte with Red Bean. Yum!

A raccoon in a cage. Not sure why, exactly. China is filled with random animals like this.

Jellyfish at the aquarium

Shark!

Yellow Mountain. It was rainy the whole time we were there, so this is really my only shot of the mountain itself!

On the gondola

One of the many groups of Chinese that wanted to take photos with us

Halfway up!

I might look happy, but believe me, I was miserable the entire time. It was not a great day to be on the mountain!

That is all for now. I go to Xian and Beijing tomorrow, and will be back in Edinburgh next Tuesday. What a wild ride!

One night in Bangkok (and a few in Thailand as a whole!)

Thailand was absolutely wonderful. I was expecting to enjoy it, but I really did not expect it to be so fun and beautiful.

I flew into Bangkok, but after hearing from a friend from Thailand, I decided to go straight to Hua Hin, a resort town about three hours away from Bangkok. Unfortunately, I misunderstood, and thought that he recommended I stay there, but he actually was just listing the closest beach to Bangkok. After speaking to him again, I immediately booked another bus to go down to Krabi.

Hua Hin was nice, but it truly was just a resort town. I spent a day at the beach and exploring town, but that was about it. It was not particularly beautiful, and was mostly an area for Thai people to get away from Bangkok for a few days.

Krabi, on the other hand, was amazing. I stayed in Ao Nang, which was a small area with a little beach. From here, I was able to take a long-tail boat to Railay my first day. This was a beautiful little island with a perfect beach, surrounded by cliffs. It was just amazing. It was almost deserted. After exploring the island for a little bit (and finding monkeys!) I settled into the beach. I met a Canadian guy on the island, and it was nice to have someone to spend the day with. Swimming in the ocean is much more fun with another person!

The second day, I took a large boat to the Phi Phi Islands. I was only there for the afternoon, so I did not get to venture too far. It was a little rainy, so the beach was deserted. I ran into my Canadian pal again, so we hit the ocean in the rain,. It was actually really fun! Unfortunately, I had to go back to Ao Nang at around 3:00. I wish I had more time on Phi Phi! If I could do it again, I would have spent the night on the islands, and done a late night snorkelling tour of the islands.

The following day, I went back to Bangkok for one night before flying back to Shanghai at 7:00 am. I was only able to explore a small amount of the city, but I managed to get some shopping done and was able to sample Thai food and beer. There is a backpacker area in Bangkok filled with people at all times. I spent the evening here, wandering, shopping, eating and drinking. I met the Canadian again, and we had a fun evening of drinking and exploring. I managed to get to bed around midnight, and only had a small headache the next morning for my trip back to China. Overall, I think I survived Bangkok just fine, and I will absolutely be back in Thailand!

 Beach in Hua Hin

On the long-tail boat.

Railay Beach. Just beautiful.

Monkeys!!

Cliffs surrounded the beach.

Long-tail boats were the preferred method of travel around the many islands near Krabi.

Phi Phi Islands. Note all the boats. This was much busier than both Railay and Ao Nang.

A cute little bridge on my way to the hotel in Ao Nang.

Sampling a beer.

I found the Russel from Up in Bangkok!

For reference:

Bangkok was always busy.

One of the many bars. Was not a lie!

The plane that would take be back to China, and end my adventure around Asia.

I had such a wonderful trip around Southeast Asia, and feel so grateful and lucky that I was able to do it. It was incredibly empowering to travel alone, and I learned much about myself, as well as new cultures and lifestyles. Sadly, this trip did nothing to sate my appetite for travel. If anything, it only made me even more eager to explore!

Finally, the song that this post is named for:

Just try not to think of it any time someone says "Bangkok"!