Author Archives: Rachel

Monday night, Sophia, her husband and I were all dying for a grand feast after having not eaten much on the trip.  So, we went to a big “hot pot” restaurant.  As I mentioned in a previous post, hot pot is a Chinese dish where families and friends will gather around at a table and […]

Where do I start?  The past several days have been nothing but misery and humor.  I know it’s a strange combo, but let me explain in this post.  Last Saturday early morning, Sophia, her husband and I took off for a three day tour to Sanya, a nearby destination in Hainan province.  We went with […]

There is not much to talk about what Sophia and I both did during the day as we did mostly business stuff, such as going to the bank to take out lots of cash as credit cards are not commonly used here in China and to finalize our next adventure plans, and I should note […]

Other than Times Square in New York City, I’ve never seen so many neon lights! I should also mention that I am fascinated to see that jumbo TVs are commonly seen on buildings and are used to post advertisements. The only time I’ve seen jumbo TVs on buildings is again, Times Square! Here also are […]

After having had a good night sleep, I woke up with so much energy and was too excited just to sit in bed for awhile and relax. After getting ready for the day, I e-mailed Sophia with the subject line, “Good morning sunshine!” and in the e-mail, I wrote, “I’m up and all ready to […]

Shanghai seriously has the worst smog I’ve ever encountered personally.  I thought Atlanta was the worst I’ve seen as I’ve seen haze while growing up there.  Seeing how noticeable the smog is really disheartens me because it not only affects the quality of the environment of our planet but also our health.  I should do […]

I was coincidentally on the same flight from London to Shanghai as my flatmate from China, Wentig.  Wentig said to me at the airport, “You will get a lot of stares by the locals in many parts of China because they have rarely seen Westerners, but they are the nicest people you’ll ever met.”  I […]

I really hate the first day of traveling overseas. I’m jet-lagged. I’m writing this note on my iPhone on the plane ride to Haikou from Shanghai. Please forgive me for typos. I’ve been going non-stop in London since I returned there last Saturday after a month long vacation at my parents’. I was cleaning out […]

I am at the airport in Shanghai waiting to transfer to Haikou to see Sophia. More later…