a(social)motion

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10/11/09--03:00: Asia: Week 2, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, October 04 – October 10: Finding our way out and about in Beijing. Flickr Photo Sets: Beijing Beijing – Tiananmen Square Beijing – Forbidden City Jinshanling to Simatai, Great Wall Beijing – Summer Palace Beijing – Jingshan Park Day 1: More travel to Beijing. Consisting mostly of my flight from San Francisco to Beijing, [...]


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10/14/09--03:00: When small is huge… (chan 1732096)

When small communities comprise 3m people and the largest cities push closer to 30m, what sort of affect does that have on daily life? This is obviously a cursory response, touching upon a few large effects I’ve noticed. First, Chinese communities seem to consist primarily of highly-designed environments. Everything from family homes to business parks [...]


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10/18/09--03:00: Asia: Week 3, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, October 11 – October 17: From China to Tibet. Flickr Photo Sets: Beijing Lhasa Lhasa – Jokhang Temple Lhasa – Sera Monastery Lhasa – Potala Palace Yamdrok-Tso Lake Gyantse Day 1: Rest in Beijing. A rest day. I sat in the common room of the hostel, chatting with fellow travelers as they departed to [...]


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10/23/09--03:00: The rule of one to many… (chan 1732096)

We set a number of concerns upon the shelf when we travel, while others are forcibly highlighted. Health, and daily hygiene in particular, often get short shrift by backpackers as many would like to consign it to the former, while it lay squarely in the latter. Setting aside genuine medical attention or insurance, the everyday [...]


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10/25/09--03:00: Asia: Week 4, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, October 18 – October 24: Out and About in Tibet. Flickr Photo Sets: Sakya Mount Everest Shigatse Nam-Tso Lake Chengdu Day 1: On the road to Mount Everest. The norm outside Lhasa quickly revealed itself: drive 5 or 10 hours over paved, dirt or nonexistent road to remote and remoter sites to spend the [...]


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11/01/09--02:00: Asia: Week 5, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, October 25 – October 31: Emei Shan with the Soons. Flickr Photo Sets: Chengdu Chengdu – Renmin Park Emei Shan Days 1 and 2: Sundays in the Renmin. Chengdu was for all extents and purposes a non-cultural endeavor. I spent the first and second days waking to a bowl Sim’s muesli and a pot [...]


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11/08/09--02:00: Asia: Week 6, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, November 01 – November 07: Out and About in Xi’an and Shanghai. Flickr Photo Sets: Xi’an Xi’an – Terracotta Warriors Xi’an – City Wall Xi’an – Big Goose Pagoda Shanghai A note on expectations: Unbeknownst to me as the overnight train puttered along the tracks, Xi’an would become a unique stop. I expected to [...]


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11/15/09--02:00: Asia: Week 7, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, November 08 – November 14: Heaven on Earth, from Hangzhou to Huang Shan. Flickr Photo Sets: Shanghai Hangzhou Huang Shan – Day 1 Huang Shan – Day 2 Day 1: Recovering at the Shanghai Museum. Given the note upon which the previous night (or early morning) concluded, the late morning began with surprising rapidity. [...]


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11/22/09--02:00: Asia: Week 8, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, November 15 – November 21: Getting local from Suzhou to Xi’an. Day 1: Huizhou Villages. After spending the previous two days climbing beautiful and surreal Huang Shan, I spent my last day around Tunxi touring a pair of ancient Huizhou villages, Hongcun and Xidi, with Kate. Well-touristed world heritage sites, both villages manage to [...]


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11/29/09--02:00: Asia: Week 9, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, November 22 – November 28: Xi’an, Xi’an and more Xi’an. Days 1 to 7: Straight Xi’an-ian flush. My return to Xi’an defied the normal trappings of my documentation. I did little in the way of explicit cultural excursion, spending most of my time in the company of local friends or new found foreign acquaintances, [...]


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12/12/09--02:00: Asia: Weeks 10 and 11, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, November 29 – December 12: Getting lost in Guangxi. Days 1 to 14: Out and about in Yangshuo. If my trip to Suzhou and return to Xi’an had shifted the focus of my travel from cultural to social exploration, then Yangshuo cemented that fact. Maybe it was the better part of 9wks spent exploring [...]


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12/20/09--02:00: Asia: Week 12, in review. (chan 1732096)

2009, December 13 – December 19: From Hong Kong to Home. Day 1: One last bus ride. Our last day in Yangshuo ventured along our well traveled path. I began with a satisfying trip to the clay pot for a delicious lunch of stir-fried pork and eggplant over rice fired in a claypot so the [...]


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01/17/10--02:00: Asia: Week 13, in review. (chan 1732096)

2010, January 10 – January 16: Return to Hong Kong and Asia. Days 1, 2 and 3: Minnesota. I spent the last few days hurriedly wrapping up the longish list of errands I’d set out for the trip home, but which I’d obviously let go ’til the 11th hour. Still, nothing essential suffered, and my [...]


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01/24/10--02:00: Asia: Week 14, in review. (chan 1732096)

2010, January 17 – January 23: Down and Out in Hong Kong. Day 1: Tea at the Peninsula. The day began in the park. Sundays constitute the only weekend many Hong Kong-ers have (in particular, the legion of Filipino domestic workers), and they flood the parks for a little green (what little is available), a [...]


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01/31/10--02:00: Asia: Week 15, in review. (chan 1732096)

2010, January 24 – January 30: En route to India. Days 1 and 2: Exit the Dragon. The week began slowly, without a great deal of surprise or variation. Having intended on departing for Macua, and having stuck rather closer to “home”, wandering the lanes and by-ways of Kowloon, the only reasonable achievements consisted of [...]


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02/01/10--02:00: Asia: In transit to India and Nepal… (chan 1732096)

My proposed travel itinerary for the spring. January Hong Kong, China February Kerala, India - Trivandrum - Varkala - Alleppey - Kochi Tamil Nadu, India - Chennai - Mamallapuram - Pudacherry - Madurai - Kodakanal Karnataka, India - Mysore - Bangalore - Hampi - Gokarna Goa, India March Mumbai, India Maharashtra, India - Ajanta - [...]


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02/07/10--02:00: Asia: Week 16, in review. (chan 1732096)

2010, January 31 – February 06: Between beach and god. Days 1 to 5: Varkala-n Holiday. My routine in Varkala suffered little disruption through most of the week. I caught up on work, both personal and professional, though tempermental connectivity and electricity did their best to throw wrenches. I enjoyed fresh juice in the mornings, [...]


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02/14/10--02:00: Asia: Week 17, in review. (chan 1732096)

2010, February 07 – February 13: On the Keralan Bizarre. Days 1 and 2: Ashram-ing. Having decided to stay at the ashram for a few days, I spent the time walking the grounds, and watching: devotees and attendees working at all manner of task and upkeep, group meditations along the beach at sunset, and the [...]


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02/21/10--02:00: Asia: Week 18, in review. (chan 1732096)

2010, February 14 – February 20: From silicon to rice. Day 1: Mysore. I spent the day being mock-productive, travel writing, as it is. Drinking lattes and iced lattes on the patio of Cafe Coffee Day, I ate up a surprising amount of the morning and afternoon. I walked home along the shopping lanes, through [...]


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01/01/11--02:00: Trying something different… (chan 1732096)

Check out michaelmelchior.com for current posts.


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