Run to Temple of the Sun

"Temple of the Sun" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/105 sec, ISO50
“Temple of the Sun” Beijing, 2018

This morning I woke up extra-early due to jetlag and decided to go for a run. At 6 am, the streets of central Beijing were surprisingly empty. In fact, I could pretty much run in the middle of the streets if I wanted to! I guess most of the people were beginning their commutes outside of the city, so it wouldn’t get busy until they arrived.

Since I don’t know the city at all, I just ran with Google Maps on and I looked for interesting places and parks, which led me to the Temple of the Sun. It’s a cool little park which has a beautiful pond and other points of interest and is also very popular with runners and walkers. So I was totally at home running (more like jogging), walking, and stopping to take photos.

You know, I try to run in new places, like when I visited Stockholm for business. Running can get you to places really quickly, and since you can stop at any time to take in the sights, it’s a great way to get familiar with a new city. Especially if you can do it early in the morning. 😀

"Sunrise Over the City" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/50 sec, ISO64
“Sunrise Over the City” Beijing, 2018

Arrival in Beijing

"Welcome to Beijing" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO800
“Welcome to Beijing” Beijing, 2018

こなばんは。How’s it going?

Well, we finally made it to China! After a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles, we arrived in Beijing at 2:15 pm local time. The weather is beautiful and it doesn’t seem too polluted.

The customs/security at the airport wasn’t too bad although I had a ton of trouble with the fingerprinting machines. They just couldn’t scan my fingers correctly and it took a long time to do. Eventually, one of the officers came by with a wet rag and cleaned the sensor window and it worked fine.

Soon after, we met up with our tour guide coordinator, then hopped into our shuttle (a Buick minivan) and after a short 20-minute drive we were at our hotel.

"From the Hotel" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/240 sec, ISO200
“From the Hotel” Beijing, 2018

The rest of our group of 23 arrived at the same time, so after a quick rest, we headed to the attached mall and found a nice restaurant for dinner. Of course, our first meal in China has to be Chinese food, so Tak Yong fit the bill nicely! We ordered spicy minced pork with buns, kung pao chicken (to see how it’s prepared in the motherland), and a spicy fish dish. I chose the fish partly because many other diners ordered it, and also because I wanted to see how it compared to the spicy fish dish that I love back in Austin.

I thought it was delicious! The broth was clear, but there was plenty of red pepper and peppercorns to give it some heat, and the fish filets were tender and flavorful. The other dishes were yummy as well, and the portions were large. Three dishes were perfect for the four of us. My only complaint would be that the service was kind of slow and they brought out our rice after all the other dishes, so we couldn’t enjoy it together. However, our waitress was patient and did her best to translate using her phone and another little electronic display to communicate.

"Dinner" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec, ISO6400
“Dinner” Beijing, 2018

After dinner, it was still early evening so we strolled through the mall, then outside for a bit. The evening air was a nice temperature, but the city air has an unhealthy smell to it. Maybe because we are in the heart of the city and also it was the end of the day, but let’s see if the air is the same tomorrow morning. Will be interesting to find out.

"Late Commuters" Beijing, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/20 sec, ISO6400
“Late Commuters” Beijing, 2018

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~

Off to China

"787" Los Angeles, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/125 sec, ISO800
“787” Los Angeles, 2018

Hello!

Well, our trip to China is underway as we began our long flight from Los Angeles to Beijing. Luckily the plane is a Boeing 787 so we have plenty of modern amenities including large overhead bins and a modern entertainment system. The movie selection is huge and varied! If you check out the photo down below, you can see how there are some obscure titles.

Because it’s a super-long flight, I was able to watch four movies: “Fantastic Beasts, and Where to Find Them“, “Ready Player One“, “Destiny: Kamakura Monogatari“, and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl“.

I enjoyed all the movies except perhaps the Japanese one, which was a bit boring. I think I may have slept for half an hour through the middle of it. However, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” was excellent, funny, and really sad. After that one, I had to turn off the screen and read my book. 😭

Anyways, we’re almost to China, and the excitement is running high!

Talk to you later!

またね~

"Spacious" 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO4000
“Spacious” 2018
"Movie Choices" 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/70 sec, ISO6400
“Movie Choices” 2018
"Bathroom Selfie" 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO1250
“Bathroom Selfie” 2018

Great Game

"Dodger Stadium" Los Angeles, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/550 sec, ISO200
“Dodger Stadium” Los Angeles, 2018

Hi all!

Went to a ballgame today at Dodger Stadium to see the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks for first place. I haven’t been to a game here in several years so there was a lot of nostalgia for this visit. And I, of course, just had to have a dodger dog!

It was a really long game, with so many pitching changes and it really slowed down the pace, but that was ok in the end since the Matt Kemp ended the game with a walk-off hit in the 9th! Woohoo! It was amazing.

I hope you had a nice day!

またね~

Vacation Begins

"Waiting" Austin, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/280 sec, ISO200
“Waiting” Austin, 2018

こなばんは。How’s it going?

Well, today was the first day of my long vacation. The first leg of my trip takes me from Austin to Los Angeles via Long Beach Airport. It was a smooth flight and I arrived at my brother’s place in Redondo Beach in the evening just in time for dinner. That’s when the festivities began, with a flight of beer at HopSaint Brewing Company, then a drink at my brother’s fiance’s neighbor’s birthday party. After that, we went for a couple more drinks at Hudson House and then back home. What a fun night, and a nice way to start the vacation.

おやすみ

"Burger Time" Redondo Beach, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/40 sec, ISO6400
“Burger Time” Redondo Beach, 2018
"Fun Photos" Redondo Beach, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO400
“Fun Photos” Redondo Beach, 2018
"Airplane" Long Beach, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/7.1, 1/600 sec, ISO200
“Airplane” Long Beach, 2018
"Sunset" Redondo Beach, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/1250 sec, ISO200
“Sunset” Redondo Beach, 2018