You may recall last year I posted a video of myself bungee jumping on the blog. In case you missed it… Continue Reading →
All posts tagged travels
Chinese New Year in Bali: Part I
Back in February of 2011, I visited the island of Bali in Indonesia for Chinese New Year but never got around to posting photos. Finally, a year and a half later, here they are. Continue Reading →
Seduced by the Li River: Part III
My final day in Yangshuo was perhaps my favorite day of the trip. That morning, I rented a bike from my hotel and explored the entire area on my own.
Seduced by the Li River: Part II
After waiting for a rainstorm to end, I headed to Yangshuo’s Silver Cave. Through a series of strange events, I found myself in a massive group with about 40 Chinese tourists.
Seduced by the Li River: Part I
Yours truly at the Li River
Back in July, I visited the small town of Yangshuo in China’s Guangxi province. Despite the fact that Shenzhen is quite close to this popular tourist destination, I never took advantage of it while I was living there. But because Lonely Planet lists it as one of the Top 5 things to do in China, I knew I needed to see it before I leave.
The trip started off nightmarishly. Having traveled a lot to various Chinese cities recently, I foolishly decided to make all of my plans last minute. I didn’t book a hostel until the night before, and it seemed all the popular ones were completely booked. Then, because I packed an hour before I had to leave for the airport and got stuck in traffic, I missed my flight. I was able to book another one, but it took off 5 hours later, cutting off precious time from the three short days I had there.
Lush Island
- Qingdao. Home of Tsingtao Beer.
Last month I took a little weekend trip to Qingdao, a coastal city in China’s Shandong province. I used the high-speed train to get there, which shortened my trip from about nine hours to five.
The name Qingdao (pinyin: “Qīngdǎo”, characters: 青岛) translates to “lush” or “green” island. “Lush Island” is a fitting name in more ways than one — the city also happens to be home of Tsingtao, China’s biggest brand-name beer. (Har har, get it?!)
Beijing pollution, as seen from above
Taken on my way to Shanghai, September 4, 2010.
PS: More about the aforementioned trip to Shanghai coming soon!
A year in Asia
Exactly one year ago today, I boarded a plane bound for Beijing, China. And what a year it’s been.
Christmas in July
Oh, hey.
Say hello to my new Nikon D90—my first DSLR. I ventured over to the Beijing Wukesong Camera Market earlier today to buy it, and believe me when I say I was as giddy as a five-year-old on Christmas morning upon arrival.
Ever since I dabbled with photography at my Poynter fellowship last year, I’ve been wanting to explore advanced digital photography. I’ve taken a lot of photos during my travels around Asia but have become increasingly frustrated by the limitations of my little Kodak point-and-shoot. I suppose anyone who was given Canon Mark III to play around with for two weeks would feel that way too. (Point-and-shoot, it’s not you. It’s me. But we can still be friends!)
I’ve still got a lot to learn with this baby, but I’m already getting the hang of—and enjoying—it.
If only I had the D90 when I went to go see the temples of Angkor Wat …
About
Bridget O'Donnell is a designer for Ataway in Shanghai, China. She previously worked for the China Daily and graduated from the University of Michigan in 2009. More »