May 19, 2023 Mandarin Immersion (Part 5) By Simon J. Lau Chengde, a mountain city, was the former summer residence for Qing dynasty emperors who sought to escape Beijing’s suffocating seasonal heat. It was also an important military outpost, located between Beijing and the further reaches of Mongolia (now Inner Mongolia). At its heart is the Mountain Resort. This facility includes many imperial palaces and gardens that were influenced by different regional designs found throughout China. It beautifully showcases China’s […]
May 18, 2023 Mandarin Immersion (Part 4) By Simon J. Lau I had the pleasure of meeting Kou Aizhe, a renowned podcast producer behind the immensely popular Chinese podcast, GushiFM, which translates to “Story FM” in English. Similar to the podcast This American Life, GushiFM focuses on sharing authentic stories of everyday people in China. As a Mandarin language learner, I discovered Aizhe’s work years ago. Although still a bit advanced for me, I use it to enhance my listening […]
May 17, 2023 Mandarin Immersion (Part 3) By Simon J. Lau I visited Beijing’s 798 Art District. I’ve been to 798 before, but after learning more about it from my Chinese language book, I wanted to visit again. Previously, it was a military industrial park. After it was decommissioned, a thriving artist community took over. I visited with my friend and former Twitter coworker, David. David grew up in Beijing and was in town, so he graciously showed me around. […]
May 16, 2023 Mandarin Immersion (Part 2) By Simon J. Lau My first day in Beijing, and to get over jet lag and get settled in, I willed myself across the city (with help from a small boost of coffee). A little over 14 miles (according to my Fitbit). Not bad for my first full day! In the morning, I had a traditional Chinese breakfast. However, the real highlight was dinner, where I had Muslim street food. Since New Zealand, […]
May 15, 2023 Mandarin Immersion (Part 1) By Simon J. Lau I kicked off the start of my 6-week Mandarin immersion trip last weekend. I’ve been learning Mandarin regularly for the last 5+ years, but I haven’t had a chance to use it in earnest. I saw this as my opportunity to do so. First stop, a (long) layover in Taipei! I had 11 hours to kill, so I did what I often do: I explored! The airport ATM only […]
April 26, 2023 Baja Bound 2023 (Part 22) By Simon J. Lau Today, I ended my trip the same way it began, in Tecate. It’s a charming little town just south of San Diego County, and it was a nice spot for me to end my nearly month-long trip across this beautiful and desolate peninsula. Crossing the border here was such a breeze! I broke Wilbur out of his pen, took the advice of locals on Reddit, and cut in […]
April 25, 2023 Baja Bound 2023 (Part 21) By Simon J. Lau Today, I left Ensenada and arrived in Tecate. Riding in, there was a lot of moisture in the air. It wasn’t rain, per se, but this was the closest to rain I’ve experienced in Baja. Since my spill at the water crossing in Loreto, I made sure to take my time. This whole month I’ve been fortunate and granted early check-in at all of my hotels (as early […]
April 24, 2023 Baja Bound 2023 (Part 20) By Simon J. Lau This morning, I took it easy. I had coffee and churros for breakfast (that’s 4 churros when I only expected 1 😳), and I was up early enough to have this whole space to myself. Afterward, I had my laundry done before heading home. I hate doing laundry. In the afternoon, I went back to my favorite oyster spot. The pork rinds taco and roasted oysters with cheese […]
April 23, 2023 Baja Bound 2023 (Part 19) By Simon J. Lau Today, I made it into Ensenada! I thought this was my first time here, but my mom pointed out that we’ve been here twice before. 😅 Both times, I was very young: Once from a cruise ship and another by bus (from San Diego). I was a bit anxious about traffic (since I’m still a relatively new motorcyclist), so I got going a little after sunrise at 6 […]
Error: No feed found.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.
