This term my classes have finished relatively early. So, I’m in Vietnam now! These photos are just from a one night stop over in Singapore - if only all airports were like that. I’m going to be travelling from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) in the south to Hanoi in the north.
Photos at/on Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.
A very belated post from my March trip to Taiwan. I travelled to Taipei and the surrounding area. It was a great country to travel to - very friendly, clean, and tranquil. One of the photos shows Taipei 101, which I went to the top of via the World’s fastest lift! The hot thermal valley at Beitou (北投) was amazing - water in the lake was almost at boiling point, and there were lots of very warm rivers running back down into the town. I also visited places like the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall and the Shilin Night Markets. I didn’t realise how useful it would be to have done a term’s intensive Mandarin beforehand - critical for bargaining and ordering (delicious) Taiwanese food! Being in Taiwan was a chance to find out more about the Republic of China, and the history of its relations with the PRC.
These photos were all taken in Shanghai. I actually preferred it to Beijing (perhaps because I actually had clothing appropriate for the weather). The skyline at the Bund was spectacular - like a mini Hong Kong. We saw all sorts of interesting sights, like the birthplace of the Communist Party, all the top universities, and several of the most famous old districts. Note the top left photograph with the sign about the first National Congress of the Communist Party in front of a Cartier shop - how things have changed!
From Dandong, we took a train south across the China-DPRK border to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Although it was relatively expensive to make the trip, rather than go somewhere else in the region, it was more than worth it. It was completely different to everywhere else that I’ve been, and absolutely fascinating. We had an excellent guide, who spent the whole week answering endless questions from us about her country.
