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. 😀
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/50 sec, ISO64 “Sunrise Over the City” Beijing, 2018
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Photo info: Motorola Moto G (4), 3.64mm, f/2, 1/200 sec, ISO50 “New Clouds” Cedar Park, 2018
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today I ran for the first time in my new On Cloud shoes. I want to make sure they are broken in for my upcoming China trip because I think we might be doing a lot of walking and I’d hate to get blisters because of new shoes. I’m not too worried, though, because these are the same size and model of my old running shoes, and they feel pretty much identical.
But besides breaking them in, I want to improve my stamina for the trip. Before Bay and I went to New York, I started running again in preparation for lots of walking around the city, and it really paid off. I was able to keep up with Bay for pretty much the whole trip! 💪
I have to say though that it was tough on my feet the first two days when I was wearing the Converse High-tops. Once I switched over to the running shoes, it was so much easier! That change, plus leaving the messenger bag at the Airbnb and just taking a small shopping bag, were real eye-openers – travel even lighter than usual and the day is much more enjoyable.
With that in mind, I think I will be taking my lightweight packable backpack which I used on our Disney trip last year for our daily excursions. It weighs almost nothing, but I will be able to throw in my power bank, extra camera batteries, and a water bottle.
Since we are going on a cruise and tour, I am not sure how much walking we will be doing, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. One scenario that I can imagine though, is getting tired on the Great Wall excursion.
When I visited China back in 1990(?), our tour group visited a section of the Great Wall, and we really wanted to reach one of the checkpoints to get a souvenir stamp. But dang, the wall was so steep and the steps were pretty big. And we were keeping an eye on the time since we had to be back at the bus soon. Wow, what a workout that was! But we made it to the checkpoint and got our stamps, then jogged back down to the bus. I haven’t thought about that in years, but it is truly a great memory.
Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if that same scenario plays itself out once again. So I ran today with that in mind. 😀
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/1400 sec, ISO200 “One World Trade Center” New York City, 2018
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today is our last day in New York City, as we are flying home early tomorrow morning. For this final day, we stayed towards the end of Manhattan Island. Our first stop was the 9/11 Memorial and its reflecting pools. These memorials are quite impressive and somber, with the names of the people who lost their lives etched all along the edge.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/110 sec, ISO200 “Reflecting Pool” New York City, 2018
We sat for quite a while near the memorial, I think partly because of the nature of the space, and also that we just needed a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. So after a quiet hour or so, we then headed to the top of One World Trade Center to the observation deck.
The elevator ride to the top is very interesting because the walls of the elevator are large screens which not only replicate the rising altitude but how the city changed all the way from its founding until the present day. It was an incredible show. Please check out this video, which will give you and idea.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/680 sec, ISO200 “The City” New York City, 2018
As you might guess, the view from the top of One World Trade Center is stunning. But even though you are at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, both Bay and I agreed that the view from Top of the Rock was more impressive, mostly because you are outdoors. But I think the observation deck of One World Trade Center is a must see. With this trip, I’ve now been to the top of Rockefeller Center, The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, and the original WTC.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/210 sec, ISO200 “Looking Uptown” New York City, 2018Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/350 sec, ISO200 “Towards Brooklyn” New York City, 2018
Next, we visited the 9/11 Museum, which is below ground. You can see the original steel foundation beams and slurry wall and many tributes in the forms of murals and paintings, but the heart of the museum has to be the historical exhibits that chronicle the timeline of September 11, 2001. It was shocking to relive that day, and there were several times when I felt tears welling up.
There was one exhibit/film in particular that describes the timeline of Flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania after the passengers stormed the cockpit of the hijacked jet. It was heartbreaking to hear the voicemail messages of passengers to their loved ones and families… That was extremely difficult to hear. 😢
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/70 sec, ISO3200 “Memorial” New York City, 2018
I have to admit that I was not really looking forward to visiting this museum, but I am very glad I did. When we exited the museum I gave Bay a little hug. 😥
After the museum, I really needed to get some caffeine so we searched The Oculus building for the Starbucks. Unfortunately, we didn’t find one, but the building itself is really cool:
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/240 sec, ISO200 “Oculus” New York City, 2018
Luckily there was a Starbucks on the way to Wall Street, so we had a short rest, I got my caffeine fix, we were ready to go. From the coffee shop, it was just a short walk to the Charging Bull statue. It was pretty cool, but I really enjoyed seeing the Fearless Girl. I wasn’t sure if it was a permanent sculpture or would be there, but it was! I admire what this statue stands for. Resiliency and the strength of the underdog, the less-privileged.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO800 “Fearless Girl” New York City, 2018
A couple blocks away are the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Hall National Memorial. It was cool to be in the same place where George Washington was sworn in as the first president. You can actually see the floor that he stood upon to receive the oath.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/100 sec, ISO320 “NYSE” New York City, 2018Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/100 sec, ISO2500 “George Washington” New York City, 2018Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5, 1/100 sec, ISO2500 “George Washington and NYSE” New York City, 2018
After Wall Street, we headed back to SoHo for last-minute gift-shopping and then to our last dinner in NYC. And it had to be… pizza! 😆🍕
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/60 sec, ISO3200 “Pizza Dinner” New York City, 2018
One the way back to our Airbnb I snapped a photo of this wall-art. I like to think of it as Bay and I enjoying our travel together. 😀
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/100 sec, ISO1000 “Together” New York City, 2018
