Next Adventure... India!

So I lied. This will be my last post for this year. I just bought plane tickets to go to New Delhi, India for the first two weeks of February for Chinese New Year. What am I doing there? What will I see? I have no idea yet. Time to pick up a travel book, get a Visa, book some hostels... Talk about an impulse buy!

Let the travel planning begin!

Housewarming! Last Post of 2010...

So after a few months of settling in (and procrastinating), I finally threw an official housewarming (Christmas themed with a white elephant gift exchange). My place comfortably fit 18 people!

 
What happened this year?

• I traveled to Singapore, Malaysia, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Jiuzhaigou.
• I hit up Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego during my stint in the States for Susan's and Sirena's graduations!
• I bought, tore down, and remodeled my apartment in the city.

It's been another fantastic year. I've learned a ton (with many many mistakes), traveled to some cool places, and met lots of amazing people. Who knows what will happen in 2011!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dinner at Naples!

Well, I didn't actually go to Naples, but it felt like it! My friends Constantino from Madrid and Paola from Naples had me over for a nice homemade dinner... Spinach and Cheese Rustic Pizza, Eggplant Parmesean, vegetables...

 
 Like my red slippers?
 
 Layers of eggplant... yum!

It's the holidays and I won't be going home. What will I be doing? Not sure quite yet. 3 big holidays are coming up (Christmas, New Year, and Chinese New Year) and this is what I'm thinking:

• For Christmas, I'll be throwing a Housewarming/White Elephant Gift Exchange/Christmas Party. On actual Christmas day... don't know quite yet.
• I'll be ringing in the New Year with by buddy Chris in HK, just like last year.
• For Chinese New Year, I'm still trying to figure it out. Harbin is the current favorite. Thoughts? Anyone want to go on a trip?

I think the next time I'll be back in the States will be August? So... come visit!

Pre Housewarming

My roommate Greg Witmer ('09) just moved in so it was about time to have a mini-housewarming. It's not quite a full house warming yet, since I wasn't sure how many people I could comfortably fit in the apartment. 9 fit quite comfortably on the couch and window sill, so I'm thinking if people hung out in the dining room and the bedrooms, we could maybe fit 20+? We'll see how big the next one will be, or maybe I'll just have housewarmings in a few batches...

 

Other Apartment Pix

 Dining Room

 
Hallway looking out from my room.

 
Office/Study Room

 
Tiny Bedroom

 
View from my bedroom window

 
Apartment floorplan.

Moved In, Finally!

I'm finally moved in and settled in! Feels great to finally be done.

  Living Room. Almost exactly a year ago, I went to Painter's Village with some friends to look for paintings for my rented apartment - here's my blog post: http://danaung.blogspot.com/2009/08/painters-village.html. I said, "If I ever bought a house in Shenzhen, I'd come here to decorate it!" Well, I guess it's about time I make a trip over! Hey, notice the 4 paintings I bought a while back... I guess I liked them so much, I decided to buy a house to put them in!

  Entrance and Kitchen

  Hallway (2 bedrooms on the right, on bath on the left, master bedroom + bath at the end).

  The master bedroom (mine!)...

What's missing... a housewarming! I'm thinking of having it on Sept 24, so pictures from that coming soon.

New Apartment in Shenzhen!

So, why have I been so busy over the last few months? In the middle of all the traveling, I've been thinking about things like, "What color tiles do I like?"

 I am rennovating my new place in Shenzhen, which is extremely close to the Shenzhen/HK border, hence the HK metro map.
 How much rennovating am I doing... check out the floors and the tiles!

Plans are to move into a fresh new place in 3 weeks! Stay tuned!

Suzhou!

 I didn't have a chance to ride the Maglev yet (581km/hr = 361mph), but going 284km/hr (176mph) isn't too bad either.

 Walking around Shangtang street. Looks like Venice in China!

 The Zhuo Zheng Garden, one of Suzhou's many gardens.

 

Shanghai - World Expo!

Our main reason for stopping through Shanghai was to go to the World Expo. China spent more money on the World Expo than they did on the Beijing Olympics in 2008!

 This picture of the Macau Pavilion is for Sirena!

 There were lots of people! Crowds + 35C+ temperatures... fun fun!

 The US Pavilion!

 Here is Haibao, the official mascot of the World Expo, whom you could see EVERYWHERE!

Krispy Kreme!

There is only ONE Krispy Kreme in all of China and I found it in Shanghai! They have the whole doughnut conveyor belt inside too! My taste buds tell me the doughnuts taste just as good (though slightly different...).

 

Shanghai - The Bund!

Some pix of the Shanghai skyline and the Bund.

 
 
 
 

Chinese Fajitas!

What happens when you're deprived of Mexican food in China? You find a way to cope, like this! At a really awesome restaurant in Hangzhou, Grandmother's Kitchen (外婆家), I ordered 2 of my favorite dishes: teppanyaki tea tree mushrooms and roti prata. Who says you can't have fajitas in China?

 

Hangzhou!

 In Hangzhou, we visited the Gong Chen Bridge, which is one of the more well-known bridges that span the Grand Canal (a canal whose sections were combined around 1500 years ago to connect the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers).
 We took a short boat ride to the middle of West Lake.
 Here a view of the area around the lake at night. Reminds me a bit of the Acropolis.
 To end the day, we watched the musical water fountain show - not as grand as the Bellagio one, but still really good!

Chinese Restaurant!

Look! I found a Chinese restaurant in China (in Hangzhou actually)! 

Beijing!

I went to Beijing (again...) where I took my mom and sister to the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Olympic Stadium... etc. Since I've already posted pix from these places when i took my dad, I'll post some other interesting pix.

 The Wangfujing food street - very crowded!

 What's for lunch? BBQ scorpions? These guys are roasted while they're alive! I'm going to add this to my long list of reasons for being a vegetarian...

 Suzhou street at the Summer Palace (yes, it was raining...)

  The marble boat at the Summer Palace.