I wanted a place to journal all my travels and adventures around the world. I always enjoy going back and reflecting on my past travels and getting to relive them through my words and photos.
Sunday, January 15, 2017 @ 10:00 PM in 2017 Costa Rica
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Tags: costa rica, coffee, waterfalls
Posted from: Costa Rica
Saturday, January 14, 2017 @ 10:00 PM in 2017 Costa Rica
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Tags: costa rica, volcano, la fortuna
Posted from: Costa Rica
Friday, January 13, 2017 @ 10:00 PM in 2017 Costa Rica
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Tags: costa rica, la fortuna
Posted from: Costa Rica
Thursday, January 12, 2017 @ 10:00 PM in 2017 Costa Rica
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Tags: costa rica
Posted from: Costa Rica
Monday, December 15, 2014 @ 2:30 AM in 2014 Asia
Since we were out pretty late drinking last night we slept in and took today easy. Neither one of us were really feeling 100% so we went out and got lunch at Pizza Hut. There was a line and it seemed like the lady taking reservations was screaming at everyone. Eventually we got in and the place was packed full of people and while we were eating, a group of older ladies started screaming at the waitress for no reason. The argument seemed to go on for about 15 minutes.
After eating we went back to the hotel for a little while before heading out and walking around. We went back to Nanjing road to try and find the fake market, which was supposed to be full of all kinds of fake products but we couldn't find it. We ended up walking all the way down to the riverfront and took some photos of the skyline at night.
Both of us were pretty ready to head back home so we just wrapped up the night with some work and emails. Tomorrow we head to the airport and on our way back to the states!
Tags: china, shanghai, travels2014
Posted from: China
Sunday, December 14, 2014 @ 8:37 AM in 2014 Asia
Today was another day of exploring Shanghai. The first thing we did was visit the Jade Buddha temple. It was in the middle of some really rundown parts of town but the buddha itself was pretty cool. There were a lot of people worshiping which made it a little awkward to walk around taking photos though.
Next we went over to the Jing'an Temple which is smack in the middle of a big shopping area. It looked pretty neat from the outside but we couldn't figure out how to get in. Instead of dealing with the masses of people we walked some of the big shopping streets to a bar called Windows Garage where they were having buy-one get-one specials on half liter beers. We hung out there for a while before going downtown to try and have a drink at the top of the Jin Mao tower.
We got to the tower but they wanted us to spend at least 125 Yuan each which seemed really pricey. The view was nice but it was just after sunset and it was a little hazy out so the views weren't worth the price. We ended up leaving without a drink and came back to the hotel for a little bit.
Our friend on the ground here made us a reservation at a Turkish place so we walked over there for dinner. The food was good but we felt like it was a little pricey for the portions they gave out. Afterwards we walked to a different area of town that was full of little bars and ducked into one that had a good happy hour. After that we made our way to a place called Dean's Bottle Shop where they had a really impressive selection of beers for really good prices.
We met up with Nate at a place called Dr. Beer before heading over to Liquid Laundry again. We had a beer there then went to some weird indoor batting cage / bar that was full of American dudes. It was pretty late by the time we got there so we had a beer then caught a cab back to the hotel.
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Tags: china, shanghai, travels2014
Posted from: China
Saturday, December 13, 2014 @ 4:51 AM in 2014 Asia
Since we didn't have any real plans we were able to sleep in a little bit which was nice. The first thing we did was head into Yuyuan Gardens which was right by our hotel. It's one of the older parts of the city dating back around 1,000 years. We grabbed some breakfast there and then walked to the riverfront to see the skyline of Shanghai.
The air quality has been a lot better here than it was in Beijing which was a nice change. The skyline view was really impressive. After spending some time there we walked down Nanjing Rd for a while which was full of shopping and people trying to sell us fake rolexes and massages. We found a place for lunch in one of the malls but were kinda let down since we didn't actually get what we thought we were ordering.
We took the metro across the river and into the financial district to walk around some of the big skyscrapers. Shanghai has some nice elevated pedestrian pathways that made it easy to get around. We heard about a bar being at the top of one of the buildings so we went over there to get some good views but found out the bar didn't open until 5 (three hours from when we got there).
Instead of sticking around we came back to the hotel where we relaxed for a little bit before heading out for some drinks and dinner. We found a place that had a huge list of imported beers and had a few there around 8:30pm. The streets were pretty empty for a Friday night which was strange. Once we finished our beers we headed out for food but everything seemed to be closed or empty which wasn't a good sign. We walked around for a little while looking for something good but had to settle on McDonalds since it was the only thing open. I was at least able to try one of the local specialties which was a hamburger with some sausage links on top. It wasn't very good and I'd probably never get it again, haha.
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Tags: china, shanghai, travels2014
Posted from: China
Thursday, December 11, 2014 @ 10:24 AM in 2014 Asia
We got up early this morning so we could see Mao before catching the high speed train to Shanghai. We packed up our bags before heading out to see the Mao Mausoleum which opened at 8am. The line went pretty fast and they shuffled everyone through the mausoleum pretty fast. He looked like a pretty bad wax sculpture but all the locals seemed to be loving it. We got out by 8:15 and headed back to the hotel to grab our bags and catch a cab to the train station.
The process of getting into the train station and getting our tickets went pretty smoothly. We grabbed a few snacks and got on the train. The train took off and averaged over 300kph for most of the 4 hour ride. We passed through a lot of towns that had some crazy construction projects going on. There were towns in the middle of nowhere that had about 20-30 skyrise style apartment buildings going up. I had heard about the Chinese ghost towns before and it definitely looked like they were building more.
Once we got into Shanghai we got another taxi to the hotel. It's actually a pretty nice one although it smells like someone is smoking nearby. We made plans with some acquaintances of Mike's for dinner here in Shanghai and met up with them at a restaurant called Sichuan Citizen. There were 11 of us and we ordered a bunch of food family style, all of which was really good.
Afterwards we went to a microbrewery called Liquid Laundry where I tried one of their IPA's. After we all called it a night Mike and I had a little trouble catching a cab back to the hotel but finally got one and made it back to the hotel. We got a list of stuff to do for the next few days here but we're going to take it pretty easy tomorrow morning so we can sleep in for the first day in a while.
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Tags: china, beijing, shanghai, travels2014
Posted from: China
Wednesday, December 10, 2014 @ 6:49 AM in 2014 Asia
Since we missed seeing Mao yesterday we wanted to be sure to get there today before heading to the Great Wall. We got off at the Tiananmen Square station but there was some kind of event going on and they had the entire square closed off and the mausoleum was closed. Feeling a little deflated we got back on the subway and headed to the Beijing North train station and got our ticket to the Badaling Station for the Great Wall.
We grabbed a few snacks at the train station and waited around for the train to depart. One thing we've noticed is that whenever there is a line of people waiting for something in China, people will push and shove to get to the front of the line regardless of what it's for. When the gate finally opened for the train, people at the front of the line literally ran to be the first ones on the train. It was hilarious to us because there was obviously plenty of room but they just had this need to be the first ones on.
The train ride was fine and we got off at the Badaling station. It was a bit odd but there wasn't really a good sidewalk or path to get to the Great Wall entrance from the station. Half the time we were just walking on the road with a bunch of other people. When we finally got to the ticket station we bought our tickets and started exploring.
Mike read on Tripadivsor to take the the South path since everyone goes up the North path. We started walking South and basically had the entire wall to ourselves. We walked for about a half hour ascending some extremely steep sections and looking out several towers. It really is impressive seeing the wall. It's one of the few things in China that I've actually been 'wowed' by. We also had a relatively smog free day which made the visibility really good.
We headed back to the station and got our tickets for the train back to Beijing. The station was under construction though and full of dust and guys using power tools with ear-splitting grinding going on. That would definitely not fly at all in America but it seemed to be relatively common here since no one batted an eye at it.
We both passed out and got a little sleep on the ride back to the city. Once we arrived we tried getting the tickets that we bought online for our high speed train from Beijing to Shanghai tomorrow. No one seemed to have any idea what we were trying to do so we gave up and went back to Supreme Hotpot and had another great dinner. We got the beef combo plus mushrooms and some dumplings.
We're going to try and see Mao in the morning before we catch our train. Hopefully we can catch it since Mike has been wanting to see it since he was here 20 years ago. Tomorrow night we're meeting up with some friends of friends in Shanghai for dinner. We're hoping they can give us some good advice on places to visit and things to do when we're there.
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Tags: china, beijing, greatwall, bataling
Posted from: China
Tuesday, December 9, 2014 @ 7:16 AM in 2014 Asia
We both slept pretty well last night, probably due to the overnight flight. We were planning on going to the Great Wall today but when we woke up we looked outside and saw that the smog levels were ridiculously high (3x what they were yesterday). Rather than go to the Great Wall where we'd like to be able to see into the distance we decided to explore Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.
After breakfast we headed over to Tiananmen Square with the hopes of seeing Mao's mausoleum but we got there just after it closed down for the day (it's only open from 8-12). The smog levels were ridiculous. The visibility was so low that it was hard to see the Forbidden City from Tiananmen Square which is only across the street.
We took some photos then went over to the Forbidden City. I didn't realize how expansive the Forbidden City actually was. It wasn't too crowded which was nice and we were able to walk around and see most of what we wanted to. Aside from the smog it was a good time walking around.
Next up was the Summer Palace which is where the emperors would go during the summer to relax. It would have been a beautiful area if not for the overwhelming smog again. We spent some time there before it closed down and we had to leave. It was getting pretty cold so we found the nearest metro station and went down to the big food street. We didn't really know what we were in the mood for but eventually stumbled into a pretty busy hot pot place called Supreme Hotpot. We ordered a meat combo plate, some cabbage and noodles. They bring out a big steaming stove filled with charcoal which is surrounded by a soup of choice. You dip your meats and veggies in the soup to cook them, almost like a fondu. We had that and some beers and it really hit the spot for not much money.
Once we finished eating we picked up a few things and a gallon of water from 7-11 since we can't actually drink the tap water here. Hopefully the weather tomorrow is better for our visit to the Great Wall. All the walking around mixed with the smog has made us really tired so we're going to relax for a bit then head to bed.
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Tags: travels2014, china, smog, beijing
Posted from: China