Travel to Asia

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

My family and I just booked a vacation to Thailand and Vietnam this summer for three weeks, and I'm super excited because I have never been there. I love traveling, and the stories that you bring back from those trips are unforgettable. So I was thinking of starting a thread about some of everyone's adventures traveling (and it doesn't have to be exclusively to anywhere in Asia). So i'll start it off...

I went to China about four years ago, and this was my first encounter of an Asian country. I think there's three ways of exploring a country. One is to go there and visit family or friends, and they show you around; the other is to go on tourist groups and learn the country that way; the third is to just venture out on your own. So when i went to China, we went on the tour group and did all the sight-seeing stuff you do. And i think there's defintely limitations to going on tour groups, because they plan exactly what you're going to see, eat, sleep, etc. But I remember when we did have free time away form the group, one of my favorite experiences was finding places to eat and shop. I remember walking into one restaurant and there were cages of live animals everywhere like snakes, rabbits, fish--just random animals you don't expect to find in the states. And it was just interesting to see hwo different cultures are comofrtable with live animals almost at the base of your table while you're eating them in your dinner. additionally, one of my favorite moments was bargining with the sellers in the markets in China. It was great haggling with them. You ask them how much, and then you say that it's way to much and you cut the price down by like 75%. The merchants laugh at you, then you haggle a little, then they shoo you off and scoff in your face for trying to pay too little. You just walk away then dissapointed that they don't like your offering price, and then they call at you to come back. Then you smile in delight that you got it at a lower price then they were asking for originally........that's the best--and most fun.

So if you guys want to share any stories about your travels...like food, shopping, what you saw, any stories!

[Anonymous]

when i was in middle school , i moved to TAiwan. it was for business purposes really, because of my dad. but in any case, i quite reluctantly, left all my friends in irvine and moved to taiwan. little did know it would quite literally change the path of my life.
it was always kind of funny. i never went to middle school in the US... so i never had the experience. from 7-8 grade i spent an entire 2 years living in taiwan, getting used to the aircondition-dependent summers to the freezing cold winters. i was a california-weather wimp, it suked hard...
after a while taiwan grew on me. i made great friends, and life in a private school really spoils you, so you tend to leech all the benefits from it and get comfortable --haha, crack at USC unintentionally, but anyways. >=D
eating is so fun in taiwan. not only is it really cheap, but its everywhere. buying grocheries could literally mean walking outside your house for 3-4 minutes. my brother and i would sometimes play bball and while sweating and dying we would enter our local 7-11 for air conditioning and buy cheap drinks. it was great.
food was easy too. 7-11 was actually a meal - medium o.O. also we had this awesome small restaurant nearby. anytime you felt like buying quality buns or meat buns,....aite, but enough about food...
lifestyle in international private school is intersting. you meet people of ALL kinds of origins. i even met a guy from india who was already married (yes in middle school). my life became enriched.
there were also cultural festivals all the time in taiwan. not only firecrackers lightings and all sorts of awesome pyro-ish things that i enjoyed, but special plazas where there were movie theaters and special food carts with awesome , unhealthy stuffs (how did i get bak to food).
but yea, i think thats enough. after i left taiwan back to high school i went through withdrawal cause i missed it so much. also i made very good friends. one i still keep in contact with. he goes to usc...hah...with i like him anyways >]

[Anonymous]

did u go to taiwan american school? just curious.. cuz i have friends that went there..

[Anonymous]

i went to Taipei AMerican School (TAS). i'm almost positive thats wut you meant though, cause i'm not surprised if you have friends who went there.
TAS is infamous for getting a lot of ABCs. a lot of them are from, or return to, Cali.
the only other one i know of is dominican. from what i heard, they were much less spoiled than TAS students.
oh wait (now curious)... who do you know?[Edit by="afang on May 16, 1:30:41 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I've been to China (nanjing, hong kong, guangzhou, macao, shanghai, and others) about 6 or 7 times because ALL of my relatives live there and each time I learn so many new things about my heritage and the country that I was born in. I've had a similar experience with the caged animals being in a restaurant where I was eating (I think that's more common in the southern areas); I remember my dad and I wanted to buy one of the poor cats and set them free. I also recall being at a dinner one time where they were serving snake soup with some chicken in it also and being the wimp that I am, I had to take all the little snake bits out. I also have trouble eating the interior organs of the different animals.

I haven't been on any tours through China because I usually spend time visiting my family, so I usually try to go shopping and get cute knock off bags, or visit some pretty sights. I usually stay in the cities, but one time when we were driving on the freeway we went through the countryside and it was really calm and peaceful. It's such a contrast seeing the busyness of the cities and then the wide expanses of the more rural areas.

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I wanted to share with you all a very memorable experience I had during this past summer on the Formosa Study Tour aka "Loveboat" in Taiwan. Put two and two together: A large group of college students from all over the world, legal age is 18, Taipei as a very metropolitan and fast-paced city, and one month on a tropical island surrounded by an endlessly glittering ocean. That's Taiwan for you.
The program is no-cost, and you are solely responsible for your plane ticket & spending money. Overall, the Taiwanese government spends over $15,000 US per student that attends mostly because:
1) Museum visits are to the absolute best of China: When Chiang Kai-Shek fled the mainland for Taiwan, he brought with him the nation's art work, traditional art pieces, and a significant part of Chinese history. The Chiang Kai-Shek museum is reknown for its generous and beautiful display of Chinese artifacts.
2) Road trip of 9 days to the south of Taiwan where you see the famous Mochi factory, Gaoshoung, Sun Moon Lake, aboriginal villages, and more museums.
3) Classes in traditional Chinese art forms (e.g. Martial arts, calligraphy, paper cutting, Chinese yo yo, ribbon figurines, dough figurines, and traditional dance *I did this one!*)
4) Classes in the Chinese language. Yes..... you do get tests, but the teachers love handing out little prizes for the best student.
5) THE NIGHT LIFE! The night markets are throttled every night with food vendors, peddlers, and entertainment. For around $3 US, you can have a meal of fried stinky tofu, porkblood with rice and peanut powder and watercress (THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!), and shaved ice.

Here's the website if you are interested. I HIGHLY recommend going to the Taipei site! Tell me if you'd like to know more, or see photos, I love sharing this experience that put me in touch with my Asian heritage.

http://www.ocac.gov.tw/english/unit/unit_pop.asp?no=223&unit_type=3

P.S. The Vice President of Taiwan even came out to speak to the Loveboaters. Even though it was for political reasons concerning Mainland China, the excitement of seeing a buzzing herd of paparrazi and cameramen is overwhelming.

-Amy

[Anonymous]

When I was younger, I had the oppportunity to travel all over Asia with my family. I went to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Indonesia. I remember Indonesia had really cool monkeys that climbed all over me, and Malaysia had these rubber trees where we got to watch them make rubber! In Thailand, it was so cool because we got to ride elephants and go to the floating markets! That was where I remember seeing baby bananas and all these other different types of exotic fruits. I grew up partly in Taiwan, and therefore I remember the most about that country. Taiwan is really hot and humid during the summer, with tons of typhoons, but it was so much fun there! I used to live in this apartment with my family, and we went to the American Club all the time. But when we weren't there, we rode the buses a lot (public transportation is huge) actually I think it's a big deal everywhere except for America where cars are the dominant form of transportation. Anyways, I remember walking to the store such as 7-11 to get little snacks and candy with my brothers. Life seemed so carefree! Just went to pre-school...ate..slept..had fun! I love Taiwan's land too, it's so beautiful and tropical outside of Taipei. This summer, I'm going to Taipei to teach English, and then for the second half of my trip to Taiwan, I'm taking random recreational classes just to become more in touch with the culture and to learn and speak Mandarin better. It should be an awesome experience!

[Anonymous]

oh!! I saw Amy's post before mine, and you can't forget about the night markets! Those are incredible! The food is great in Taiwan, it's SO bad for you but so delicious...you definetly gain weight haha. Stinky tofu, shaved ice, boba, beef noodle soup, steamed buns. Then the shopping! Great deals everywhere if you can bargain. Especially at the night markets. Bottom line...go to the night markets! You won't regret it :o)

[Anonymous]

I think my travels to Asia have been some of my favorite trips. I went to Hong Kong and China with my dad and grandma during winter break of my freshman year of highschool and I had a great time. Like everyone else, I enjoyed the street life in Hong Kong and all the bargaining. I loved how everything was so cheap in the market. We stayed in a village in China where some of our relatives live. While time spent in China was fun, it was pretty dirty as well. I remember one night when we all went out to dinner, there were seriously 3 large tables and my dad treated. The final cost was about $20. A few years ago, I went to Japan by myself to stay with my friend who lived in Tokyo. I really enjoyed that trip and found that the shopping was very fun in Japan as well. We also got to stay at this hotel with the famous water baths. Japanese food is so good! I loved making "okino-miyake" which is sort of like Korean barbacue where you have the grill in front of you and you are given raw food to cook on your own.

[Anonymous]

i visited philippines for about six months in Batan (spelling?) near Manila. i thought it was an interesting experience. the weather there was really hot all the time and they had open-markets like the ones in Vietnam. overall, for me, Philippines was very much similar to Vietnam.

[Anonymous]

Since I am originally from Taiwan, after moving here, our family pretty much goes back every two to three years. Basically these trips are big in the family because it is a time when all the family friends can get together and also when my sister and I get to see our grandparents. What I like the most about our family trip is that something unexpected always happens. For example, normally, we stay in Taipei, but the last time we went back, my mom decided to visit her old school and house where she grew up so it was very fun and interesting. As I get to see my mom talk her fond memories, I feel like I grew closer to Taiwan too. Also, I think what I like the most about Taiwan is the convenience. There is a food stand every two steps around the corner and a restaurant around the block. Whenever I am hungry, I can choose to walk down and grab a quick bite and I think this is a luxury that I don't have here. Overall, I think my trips are mostly for visiting relative and not focused on generally "having fun" even though they are entertaining and relaxing.

[Anonymous]

When I was still living in Japan, I'd go back to China every winter vacation. After I moved to the States, I had to wait to get my green card (which is not actually green) before I could go back. When I went back to Shanghai during my sophomore year of high school, boy was I surprised with all the changes that I almost didn't recognize the street I grew up in. My grandma would take me to places and ask me "do you remember when you were little and I took you here and there etc?" and I'd be like "sorry grandma I don't recognize any of these places"

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