On Friday, February 14, I landed in Hong Kong International Airport. First time in Hong Kong.
I needed to go there to apply for an India entry visa, couldn’t do it in Taiwan for bureaucratic reasons. The original plan was to go for a one day visa run, but I thought that was boring and too tiring. Instead, I asked Vivian if she would spontaneously go with me for a weekend vacation, and she agreed. Continue reading “Welcome to Hong Kong.”
I went to my grandma (mom’s side) house for Chinese New Years. Her house is located in Chiayi 嘉義, the middle/south part of Taiwan. Continue reading “Chiayi for Chinese New Years”
On Sunday, 1/26/2014, I went to Xin Beitou 新北頭 with my apartment mate Fiona. It was her last day in Taipei before going back to Kao Hsiung 高雄. Continue reading “Xin Beitou”
I envisioned many weekends in Taiwan to be spent in the mountains and by the countryside. I imagined fully understanding why the Dutch colonizers called the country “Formosa” or beautiful island. I had been pretty disappointed, as all I was seeing was a busy urban sprawl. Continue reading “Maokong Mountain”
Landed Sunday afternoon, departed Saturday afternoon. I was in Jakarta just short of six full days.
This morning 1/10/14, I had breakfast with a fellow Cal friend Smiriti. We met in the dorms in our first year. She came over to the hotel for breakfast and we caught up for a bit. The topic of Berkeley came up a couple times, and it left me full of good feelings. Then I left for the airport. Continue reading “Jakarta: airport differences compared to the US.”
It’s been an overall wonderful week, both business plus personal. I’ve learned a ton about myself and the way I perceive the world. A lot of reflecting this week as well.
I’m still pretty idealistic – thank goodness, I think this is a good thing. I’m still a romantic – wish this could change this for my sake, but at this point it’s probably innate. Why even try to change who I am?
Hotel Location:
I was told by my business contacts that the Century Park Hotel is in the financial, wealthiest district of Jakarta. The hotel itself is well known and dubbed “athletes hotel” because a lot of professional athletes stay there, as it is next to the national sports complex. Continue reading “Jakarta: impressions of my hotel.”
On Sunday, January 5, my flight to Jakarta, Indonesia was on 9:50am. I ordered a cab for 7:15am. I had plans to have an early breakfast with Fred at 6am. I set my alarm for 5:30am. Continue reading “Jakarta, Indonesia: first impressions.”
On 12/24/13, A friend and I went to the National Palace Museum in Shilin 士林區. The museum has almost 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts up to 8,000 years old. It’s one of the largest museums in the world. Wikipedia lol. Continue reading “Taiwan: National Palace Museum”
Last Saturday, 12/21/13, I went down to the opposite side of the country. A friend and I took the High Speed Rail 高鐵 which travels at ~180mph, and it took us 1.5 hours to get down there. Continue reading “Taiwan: a day in Kaoshiung and Xiziwhan Station.”
Andy Cheng 