May Term 2008

View a photo album from the May Term travel course.

The last day in China was typical: spectacular new things to do and see. An early morning wake-up took us in BanNa prefecture to Wild Elephant Valley, the home of one of the largest herd of elephants in China (the elephant and the peacock are venerated in the area, as they are in nearby Thailand, … Continue reading »

The map says I’m in China, but this corner of the kingdom as much resembles its neighbors as it does the far-off Beijing. As I mentioned, Yunnan borders Laos and Burma, and is increasingly being connected to the south–to Thailand and Viet Nam. When I was in Burma a few years ago, I had our … Continue reading »

I’m two cities and 1,500 miles from where I last wrote–I’m in Yunnan, nicely named “South of the Clouds.” If Qingdao (or as I prefer, Tsingtao) was fun to wander aimlessly because it was a German Colony, my last city, Naxi, was fun to wander around aimlessly because it was back in China–or rather, because … Continue reading »

I’m a happy camper today, because I’m in one of my favorite cities (Qingdao), doing one of my favorite things (wandering aimlessly), because Qingdao is made for wandering, as I’ll explain in a minute. The students have arrived in America, and I’m sure their consciousness will join them soon; it takes a while to recover … Continue reading »

The students have left, but my adventure continues. It’s started with an adventure. When I got to the airport with them last night, I found my flight had been cancelled. So I spent the night in an airport hotel (which is nowhere) awaiting an 8:45 flight this morning. We have had an experience! When we … Continue reading »

We’re in Kyongju, in SW Korea, about 200 miles from Seoul. It was the capital of Korea for a thousand years, most recently in 962. Thus, it resembles in Korean history what Xi’an does in Chinese–the place where the country was unified. The connections are even more tight; the Shilla invited the Tang dynasty to … Continue reading »

We’ve really been on the move since we left China proper. One day in Hong Kong, one day in Macau, one day in Hong Kong, one day in Seoul, and one long bus ride to spend an evening in Busan. I’m always reluctant to leave Hong Kong, which has one of the finest skylines in … Continue reading »

Hi from Macau. Was here for one night and will write at length when I get a chance (we’re at our way to the ferry to return to Hong Kong. We’re suffering from sticker shock–probably the best way to capture the difference in prices from here to the mainland: the Internet (in HK) is 50 … Continue reading »

We’re about to leave mainland China, having spent the last few days as tourists. In Shanghai, we spent a day in a “water town,” one of the cities on the Grand Canal that has been gentrified for tourists–and was mobbed with them. What was pretty neat was that we visited the home of one of … Continue reading »