A few weeks ago, my mom came to China for a visit. We spent the weekend in Hangzhou, and went to a few tourist places, including the Chinese National Tea Museum. I hate going to museums with my mom and Ryan because they both take soooo long, stopping at every
The Ancient Water City of Xitang China
When you think of ancient China, cobbled narrow street, hanging red lanterns and kung-fu masters walking down the street appreciating a ray of sunlight or an opening bud, you probably think of a city a lot like Xitang (well, minus the kung-fu masters that is). Xitang is not very far
The Hangzhou Light and Water Show
Last summer in Xian, (home of the famous Terra Cotta Warriors) we went to a fountain billed as “The Largest Fountain in Asia!” This fountain was pretty intense. It went down an entire city block, with tiers of leveled fountain areas ending in a giant pool of water at the
The Most Average Person
You may have already heard that National Geographic put together information from every single person on the planet, all seven billion of us, to come up with the world’s most average person. That person is, drum roll please, a 28-year-old Chinese man. They then combined 190,000 pictures of 28-year old
There and Back Again: A Travelers Tale
It has been a week since we’ve been back, and it has taken me that long to recover enough to write a small blog post. Our whirlwind three-week trip back to the US was equal parts fun and exhausting. Aside from the first couple hours at the Chicago airport, where
The Obligation of Buying Souvenirs
Okay, look I know that by the time you finish reading this post you are going to think I’m a totally selfish jerk that hates my friends. That’s fine, I’m okay with it. The truth of the matter is I love buying gifts for people. The right gift at the
The Moral Dilemma of Rickshaws
I have never been comfortable with rickshaws. To me, they smack of imperialism and all I can think of is a wealthy British couple wheeling about 1800’s Hong Kong, in a rickshaw run by a chinaman wearing blue work clothes and a queue hairstyle. You know, from an old kung-fu