I took the train to Datong in Shanxi province. It was so crowded, just like the train on the National Day holiday. I suspect because it is still close to that holiday. I had a seat for the 6 hours at least. The journey was fairly nice, going northwest from Beijing through a mountain range. …
Author Archives: Lon
Day 7-8 – Beijing
I caught up on a lot of business. I had to get a new SIM card for my phone since my old one expired if you don’t use it for a few months. Seems like phone companies all over the world aren’t very fair, that’s why I avoid them as much as possible. I also …
Day 6 – Chengde to Beijing
We tried a "western style food" restaurant today. Most of the food tasted wrong though. For example, the garlic bread didn’t taste like garlic at all, pasta and tomato sauce had a lot of oil in it. It is the same if you go to an Asian restaurant in America, the food may be ok, …
Day 5 – Chengde, Heibei Province, China
I woke up early to catch the first bus down the road to the city of Chengde. This is the kind of bus that picks up and drops off people anywhere along the road. And the bus that keeps squeezing in people no matter how full it gets. Since it was the holiday week, it …
Day 4 – Heibei Province Village
For breakfast every morning, my friend’s father will start the day off with some Chinese 38% alcohol. They say it keeps you warm. This village if full of interesting characters. An uncle down the street who cannot talk, another uncle who paints coffins, and a grandfather who is very hard of hearing (I thought mine …
Day 3 – Heibei Province Village
This village is so small it doesn’t even appear on a map with a name. I learned the house I’m staying in was constructed in 1994. All the homes here are south-facing with large windows on the south side. This house is split into three sections for different people in the family. Although the house …
Day 2 – Heibei Province, China
Today is October 1st, the National Day for the People’s Republic of China. It is one of the two biggest holiday weeks in China (the other is Chinese New Year). This week, most Chinese people take the trains to their hometowns to visit their families, so it is one of the worst times to travel …
Day 1 – Detroit to Beijing
After preparing for my trip, I was dropped off at the newly opened North Terminal at the Detroit Metro Airport. Today was September 29, 2008 and the terminal opened on September 20. There was nothing too impressive about the place compared to the world’s largest airport terminal which opened in Beijing this year. My first …
Summer 2008 Update
I have rarely left my house in almost four months here at home in Michigan. No luck at jobs around here, not even an interview. I’ve decided I’m going to get out of the house for a while and take another trip while I’m still young. This will give me another chance to see many …
Day 359 – Detroit, MI
I took a flight on Northwest Airlines after midnight Eastern time and it arrived at 5:30AM in Detroit. On the first flight from Taiwan I think I slept an hour, but I didn’t sleep at all on this flight. My body still thinks it is daytime. After waiting around for a while, I asked where …