PS - Ivey folks should see some familiar faces :).
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Bejing IV, China (11/16/2009-11/23/2009)
My first time in Beijing was for athletics. My second was for sightseeing. The third time was for studying, and finally here I was in Beijing for business. Ultimately, what it really meant, is that I ate better than the previous 3 times :). And no pics of any touristly places (other than Houhai, which BL told me to go to and a girl from the office kindly took me to). On a more serious note, the opportunities here are staggeringly bright and I can't express enough how lucky I am to have met some of the people you'll see here, and if anything more comes of it, then that is sheer icing on the cake (although that icing would likely be made of diamonds IF anything more comes from it). I also can't express how frustrating it is not being able to speak Mandarin fluently when I know that I really really need to these days and I could have done so much more here if I could!
PS - Ivey folks should see some familiar faces :).
PS - Ivey folks should see some familiar faces :).
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Seoul III, Korea (10/31/2009-11/3/2009)
I came to Korea this time, not for tourism, but to see people - consequently, I'm going to break my own rule (perhaps just this once) of not showing too many people on this blog. David's wedding, friends from U of T days, and Mina. Also had a neat chance to plug into the nascent TEDx Seoul group. Consequently, there's not much to say about the sights and sounds (as there wasn't much different from what I saw 2 years ago). I have to say this time I had a chance to sample a lot of good Korean food, including Suwon kalbi (apparently Suwon beef is considered to be Korea's equivalent of Kobe beef) - which was quite outstanding. I had a really good time seeing people that mean so much in my life and wish I had more time. I also had a nice visit to David's workplace and got to meet the team behind his "latest and greatest" product. I'm in Taipei now, and I think that I will start a new blog for this chapter of my life given it's not so much about travel to new places, rather more about living in one.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Louisville, Kentucky (09/03/2009-09/05/2009)
To be honest, arriving in Louisville I was almost afraid that I wouldn't have much to say after leaving given:
1) I was exhausted from running around Chicago like a madman;
2) Most of my time here would be taken up by RA's wedding; and
3) I didn't expect to see much given I'm not really into baseball or bluegrass
Fortunately, life seems to continually surprise me. Louisville was quaint, but was still a proper city; 'Southern' [yes, I know it's not in the deep south] hospitality is certainly still around and present in the most unexpected of places; and for a city I expected to be quite homogeneous and segregated (as Washington, DC certainly is), it was quite culturally diverse, and not nearly as bad as I had expected. In fact, just as I arrived they were setting up a World Fair featuring cuisine, music, and other traditional performances from 20-odd countries right next to my hotel.
Of the few things I did get to see, I most enjoyed Mohammed Ali's museum. It was quite impressive to see how he used his boxing as a platform for charity and social change - something I was quite ignorant of beforehand. This is another city I wouldn't mind returning to again.
1) I was exhausted from running around Chicago like a madman;
2) Most of my time here would be taken up by RA's wedding; and
3) I didn't expect to see much given I'm not really into baseball or bluegrass
Fortunately, life seems to continually surprise me. Louisville was quaint, but was still a proper city; 'Southern' [yes, I know it's not in the deep south] hospitality is certainly still around and present in the most unexpected of places; and for a city I expected to be quite homogeneous and segregated (as Washington, DC certainly is), it was quite culturally diverse, and not nearly as bad as I had expected. In fact, just as I arrived they were setting up a World Fair featuring cuisine, music, and other traditional performances from 20-odd countries right next to my hotel.
Of the few things I did get to see, I most enjoyed Mohammed Ali's museum. It was quite impressive to see how he used his boxing as a platform for charity and social change - something I was quite ignorant of beforehand. This is another city I wouldn't mind returning to again.
Chicago, Illinois (09/01/2009-09/03/2009)
Chicago was another great American city that I am embarrassed to say that I had not bothered to visit until now, and only by pretext of an extended stop-over. That said, like New York City, it had a sense of familiarity and nostalgia from various references in popular culture and snippets of American history that I absorbed while growing up here in Canada.
The city also felt somewhat like the mythical Gotham City of Batman lore with its multiple street levels that get progressively darker and danker as you descend, the elevated subways, and the neo-gothic architecture of such places as the Chicago Tribune building.
The people were warm and friendly, the food was good albeit unhealthy, and the scenery and culture were both quite rich. I was also surprised at how affordable the high-end venues were when compared to similar places in Europe and Asia. One of my personal highlights was stepping inside the U-505, the first U-Boat captured during WWII now permanently stationed at the Museum of Science and Industry.
The city also felt somewhat like the mythical Gotham City of Batman lore with its multiple street levels that get progressively darker and danker as you descend, the elevated subways, and the neo-gothic architecture of such places as the Chicago Tribune building.
The people were warm and friendly, the food was good albeit unhealthy, and the scenery and culture were both quite rich. I was also surprised at how affordable the high-end venues were when compared to similar places in Europe and Asia. One of my personal highlights was stepping inside the U-505, the first U-Boat captured during WWII now permanently stationed at the Museum of Science and Industry.
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