meckleyearth.blogspot.com
John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: May 2014
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Friday, May 30, 2014. Plovdiv to Bankso by train, certainly one of the top regular (not a tourist train) routes in the world. At Septemvri, 90 minutes west of Plovdiv, we change to a narrow gauge (diesel) and for the next 5 hours head more or less south up to Bansko at 1000 meters above sea level. Down the aisle in the other direction a man sits down with his 2L bottle of beer and plastic cup. He's joined by a friend. After more than hour of seriou...
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: Tianjin - Part One
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Tuesday, May 26, 2015. Tianjin - Part One. Tainjin is a beautiful city with a lively waterfront that stretches for miles, a fine collection of historic buildings from the Colonial Era, and a good transportation system. Definitely a place worth visiting. We rolled into Tianjin Station at dusk and walked along the Haihe River to our hotel. The futuristic train station clock tower is at the right in this photo. And the Bo Hai building. The markets are...
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: April 2015
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Tuesday, April 28, 2015. Hangzhou Hiking - Part Five. Wednesday morning we rode bus #115 to downtown Hangzhou, checked out some historic architecture, then proceeded to circumnavigate West Lake on foot, lingering into sunset and early evening lights. Lunch at Hangzhou's most famous noodle restaurant. The old Post Office building. The promenades and walking paths around West Lake were crowded but only jammed. And the lights come on around the lake.
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: Safely Home
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Thursday, May 14, 2015. We are safely back home in Raleigh after enjoying a week in California with Sun-Ling's family. We still owe you about 4 more blog posts, so while you're waiting please enjoy this Mother's Day photo of Sun-Ling's family (taken by her brother Jim). Thursday, May 14, 2015. 15 May, 2015. Yes, welcome home! 15 May, 2015. Dayle In NC said. 17 May, 2015. Looking forward to your Tianjin blogs. 25 May, 2015. Follow our blog by email.
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: Hefei, my old stomping grounds
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Wednesday, May 06, 2015. Hefei, my old stomping grounds. Hefei is the little known capital of Anhui Province where my parents were on the faculty of China Science and Technology University. Up until my sister, brother, and I started elementary school in Shanghai, we got shuttled backed and forth between Hefei and Shanghai. As a little kid, I intuited that Hefei was far inferior to Shanghai. Upon this brief visit, I discovered:. And enjoyed some noo...
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: Tianjin - Part Two
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Tianjin - Part Two. Our Beijing friend Jin Yi who is from Tianjin joined us for a day of sightseeing. Our first stop was the Tianjin Museum which was well worth a visit. The section on the history of the city of Tianjin was extensive, informative, and with good English signage. Other exhibits like the Gems of the Silk Road. Below) lacked English signage. The docents giving free tours were enthusiastic. Tianjin - Part Two.
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: Beijing - Part One
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Beijing - Part One. Like any good capital, Beijing is full of sights. This is our third visit together. Our honeymoon in 1991 was our first time; the last visit 2004. Some places we go every time like Tiananmen Square. Mostly we try to score new sights. For example, this time we'll visit some new museums, the 2008 Olympic Park, and the old Legation Quarter. Prohibited but it looks like a few old-timers have an exemption.
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: January 2015
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Friday, January 30, 2015. Jakarta, Getting our Chinese Visa Walking Tours. Our number one goal in Jakarta was to apply for Obama's 2nd gift to us (the 1st being the ACA): 10-year multi-entry visas to China. We could have gone through a visa agency in DC before we left, which was too mundane and costly for Sun-Ling.Nonetheless, this mission had both us tied up in knots. Our 20 year-old copy of Jakarta - Lonely Planet City Guide has 4 walking tours&#...
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: Hangzhou Hiking - Part Six
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Tuesday, May 05, 2015. Hangzhou Hiking - Part Six. Wednesday, we headed back into the Western Hills for more hiking on sections of the Hangzhou 100 KM Trail Run route. Thursday, Aunt came along with us to ride the water taxi 5kms north on the Grand Canal, then walk back to Wulin Square. The 1700 km long Grand Canal. Spectacular view to Longjing Village on our way west. West Lake and Hangzhou city are barely visible in upper left corner. After 5 kms...
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John & Sun-Ling Wander the Earth: October 2014
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We are currently at home and NOT plotting our next trip. Sunday, October 26, 2014. To SE Asia and China. For our next trip we fly to Bali, Indonesia on Jan 7, 2015. After making our way through Indonesia to Singapore and up the Malay Peninsula. To northern Thailand, we fly to China for a March 21 family wedding in Shanghai. Then after 7 weeks in China including a trip north to the Great Wall we return to the US on May 6, spending a week in California visiting family before returning to Raleigh. By John M...