what up
so i dont think i could have pictured this any better, my last shanghai post in the airport. im writing my last post at the PVG shanghai airport where i arrived at 1130 for for my 3o clock flight. the reason for this is because i left to the airport with my grandpa who had a flight at 1 back to taipei. it was great spending time and seeing my grandpa the past weeks. even tho i was really busy with finishing up school, saying bye to friends, goodbye dinners, last minute sights seeing, and the whole moving out of the dorm process.
my grandpa is really old and just by spending time with him and communicating with my broken ass chinese to him i sometimes forget how really old he is. he is like 87ish and has experienced a lot in his life. no wonder why people should respect elders. so please do.
all i can say about the past 5months is that its been a great experience. i made great friends, saw parts of the world i never thought id see, learned chinese [somewhat], made countless memories with friends, experience a whole different culture, and simply just enjoy life. the past 5months flew by so fast and i honestly cant believe its been only 5months, to be honest, i feel like ive been out here for at least a year. the things i did, the places i saw, and the memories i made out here seemed it took longer than just 5 months to make. it just shows me how one can spend their time and to make the most of everything. but yeah, i recommend everyone to travel to a foreign country and live there for some amount of time, enough time to adapt and adjust to their lifestyle. im not gonna lie, im pretty fuckin rude now and lost some manners of how i treat people. people in china are fuckin rude, they speak over you, cut lines, push and shove, and just dont say thank you. a lil weird to what im accustomed to in the states, im not sayin states is the nicest place ever but hey, some people are at least respectful. china people just dont give a fuck. and it sorta rubbed off me to some degree haha
but yeah. i dont know what really to say in my last shanghai post oter than that i had tons of fun.
things ill miss from shanghai
-taxi drivers...the best DD ever
-cheap mild sevens
-cussing at people in english and no one understanding me haha
-the friends and people i met out here
-to some degree cheap food
-cheap clothes
-black market dvds
things i wont miss from shanghai
-the fuckin weather. it was SO cold at some points and its SO hot now.
-ugly teeth -_-
-ugly girls haha ... some exceptions
-all the signs in chinese characters
-the smell of BO, no1 wears deodorant out here. its disgusting
-bargaining for everything because u never know if ure gettin the "legit" price. everyone in shanghai is tryin to make a dollar off your foreign ass.
things i cant wait for in the states
-english!
-driving
-family
-friends
-using US currecny, ive seen and used too many kinds of currency these past months. hongkong macau thai japan and taiwan. i just want to see the good ol GREEN dollars
-mexican food...u have no idea how bad i want a burritoe from cotixans
-better weather
but yeah
its about time to board so here it is. the finale.
zai jian
thank you shanghai for being so good to me the past 5 months
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
much needed update
what up what up what up
ive been horrible at updating and i must apologize for that. i knew at a certain point in time i'd get lazy to update but here it is and im trying very hard to do so.
updates.
-im currently on my week of finals. i got 3 days of testing from 8am till 1130ish. i just finished my 2nd day of testing which was speaking and writing. [didnt take the writing test so im back even earlier.] day 3 is grammar and day 1 was listening and reading comprehension.
so since its finals. that means school is almost over which means the program is over which means im leaving back to the states REAL soon. hard to imagine how fast time flew by in about 5months. it was ridiculous fast.
but i'll get into that later. my last post will be one of those reflecting ones.
but other updates.
- a couple of the friends that i hung out with the most left already and it sorta feels empty. evan chan alex chen and michael lin left 2 days ago to taiwan.
- eugene chang my boy is stayin in shanghai! haha cant believe this guy he was the guy that i was close to coming out to shanghai with and i never really thought he was stayin after the program but he is. he just signed the lease and got the new keys to his apt yesterday. what a trip.
- been living it up and making the most of what i got left which is exactly 6 days. july 7th is my flight back home and because i save a day flying back to the us, it'll be the 7th when i land.
other updates.....
watched kungfu panda
found some REAL seedless weed out here
indoor go karting
outdoor paintballin
ate at a gang of dinners all over the city from nice rest to ghetto ones
visited the civil planning museum of shanghai. its pretty much a museum about what the future city planning will be of shanghai. pretty nuts
gonna hit up the shanghai aquarium today
still bummed the lakers lost the finals. [sorry to bring up but had to]
ummm what else...gotta make the most of the 6 days. thats whats been on my mind....hmm
a couple of ucsd people flew abroad a few days ago duke lydia rose quang and walter. they're going to some eap program in jiao tong. a college in the city which i wish i went to. for the people who ever go to fudan. this school is far from all the lights and glam, and its just inconvenient to have to go on a 30min cab to hit up the city.
im really excited to come home and be home. shanghais cool and all and ive had tons of fun, but it aint home. "theres no place like home"
well this was a quick short update to motivate me to update more this last week.
i hope all is well with everyone and i will sooon be back in cali. take care
signing off
ryan
ive been horrible at updating and i must apologize for that. i knew at a certain point in time i'd get lazy to update but here it is and im trying very hard to do so.
updates.
-im currently on my week of finals. i got 3 days of testing from 8am till 1130ish. i just finished my 2nd day of testing which was speaking and writing. [didnt take the writing test so im back even earlier.] day 3 is grammar and day 1 was listening and reading comprehension.
so since its finals. that means school is almost over which means the program is over which means im leaving back to the states REAL soon. hard to imagine how fast time flew by in about 5months. it was ridiculous fast.
but i'll get into that later. my last post will be one of those reflecting ones.
but other updates.
- a couple of the friends that i hung out with the most left already and it sorta feels empty. evan chan alex chen and michael lin left 2 days ago to taiwan.
- eugene chang my boy is stayin in shanghai! haha cant believe this guy he was the guy that i was close to coming out to shanghai with and i never really thought he was stayin after the program but he is. he just signed the lease and got the new keys to his apt yesterday. what a trip.
- been living it up and making the most of what i got left which is exactly 6 days. july 7th is my flight back home and because i save a day flying back to the us, it'll be the 7th when i land.
other updates.....
watched kungfu panda
found some REAL seedless weed out here
indoor go karting
outdoor paintballin
ate at a gang of dinners all over the city from nice rest to ghetto ones
visited the civil planning museum of shanghai. its pretty much a museum about what the future city planning will be of shanghai. pretty nuts
gonna hit up the shanghai aquarium today
still bummed the lakers lost the finals. [sorry to bring up but had to]
ummm what else...gotta make the most of the 6 days. thats whats been on my mind....hmm
a couple of ucsd people flew abroad a few days ago duke lydia rose quang and walter. they're going to some eap program in jiao tong. a college in the city which i wish i went to. for the people who ever go to fudan. this school is far from all the lights and glam, and its just inconvenient to have to go on a 30min cab to hit up the city.
im really excited to come home and be home. shanghais cool and all and ive had tons of fun, but it aint home. "theres no place like home"
well this was a quick short update to motivate me to update more this last week.
i hope all is well with everyone and i will sooon be back in cali. take care
signing off
ryan
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
post 15, i believe
what up what up what up
hows it goin everybody. hope all is well. so i got about a month left on my abroad program. school ends july 5 and i think i gotta be moved out latest, the 8th. so all i have to say is, if people want souvenirs or anything from china let me know asap! i suck at gettin gifts so if you really do want something please let me know or else you'll just get a hug and a "hows it goin" when i see you.
so on my last month at shanghai i really plan to make the most of it and soak in the city, see the people, eat the food, hang with friends, and party like a madman. i gotta make the most of everything right? things on my to do list consist of go cart racing, hitting up some museums, hittin up an aquarium, shop for stuff, and simply hang out with friends that ive made out here.
before even coming on this abroad program i was planning to hit up taipei and see my gramps, hang with friends, and of course chill with my dad. but since i already went to taiwan to see my grandpa earlier this past month i may just have to put it on hold to next time and arrive back in LA earlier than expected, which is not a bad thing at all. i miss home, im not sayin im homesick or anything, but being away from your family and friends for this long of a period it takes somewhat of a toll on you. so i should be expected to land in lax around the dates of july 6-10.
sorry to all of my friends that i was gonna meet and party with in taipei, next time! to be quite honest, im a little bummed about not going but its okay since i already went.
what else is there to say...i watched iron man out here and its a good movie. very pleased with robert downey jr's performance. my favorite scene was on his private airplane, haha. ive been really into the DEXTER showtime series. its freakin good yet a lil creepy. everyone should give it a shot! what else is there to say....umm hope all is well with everybody. see you guys in a month.
take care
peace out
ryannn
ps holla if you want something!
pss. congrats to all my friends who demitted from akpsi and all the friends i got graduating this year! congrats!
hows it goin everybody. hope all is well. so i got about a month left on my abroad program. school ends july 5 and i think i gotta be moved out latest, the 8th. so all i have to say is, if people want souvenirs or anything from china let me know asap! i suck at gettin gifts so if you really do want something please let me know or else you'll just get a hug and a "hows it goin" when i see you.
so on my last month at shanghai i really plan to make the most of it and soak in the city, see the people, eat the food, hang with friends, and party like a madman. i gotta make the most of everything right? things on my to do list consist of go cart racing, hitting up some museums, hittin up an aquarium, shop for stuff, and simply hang out with friends that ive made out here.
before even coming on this abroad program i was planning to hit up taipei and see my gramps, hang with friends, and of course chill with my dad. but since i already went to taiwan to see my grandpa earlier this past month i may just have to put it on hold to next time and arrive back in LA earlier than expected, which is not a bad thing at all. i miss home, im not sayin im homesick or anything, but being away from your family and friends for this long of a period it takes somewhat of a toll on you. so i should be expected to land in lax around the dates of july 6-10.
sorry to all of my friends that i was gonna meet and party with in taipei, next time! to be quite honest, im a little bummed about not going but its okay since i already went.
what else is there to say...i watched iron man out here and its a good movie. very pleased with robert downey jr's performance. my favorite scene was on his private airplane, haha. ive been really into the DEXTER showtime series. its freakin good yet a lil creepy. everyone should give it a shot! what else is there to say....umm hope all is well with everybody. see you guys in a month.
take care
peace out
ryannn
ps holla if you want something!
pss. congrats to all my friends who demitted from akpsi and all the friends i got graduating this year! congrats!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
the one with japan
i just came back from japan and all i have to say is, japan is indescribable. everyone should go one day, its by far the MOST advanced asian country ive been to. the cities were clean as can be and the technology advancements are what i wish the US was. to be honest, the city was clean as hell and for some reason there are VERY few trashcans around, ,i dont know why but i guess everyone just holds there trash cause u can easily walk around for about 20min without finding a trashcan. but yeah, japan was tite.
the cities ive visited was tokyo, kyoto, and osaka. i only spent 5 days and 4 nights there but made the most of it. wish i couldve been out there longer but i ditched MORE than enough school. i ditched school to a point where i HOPE i wont get in trouble. i need these credits or im fucked and heading straight to a jc for chinese =\ so lets hope that everything is okay for my sake.
so the line up was.... michael joyce alex evan yiling marvin julie conway and myself. joyce and alex were the only non first timers of japan so it was a great experience for us japan virgins.
so lets go through each day out in japannn!
day 1. tokyo - flight was 10am from shanghai which meant waking up around 6am to get to the airport on time. landed in japan around 2ish. took 130hr train to toyko, from train station subwayed to SHINJUKU which where our hostel was. check this, our hostel was one of those places where you sleep in a hole in the wall cabin ish things. think of a morgue, and thats how our beds were without the freezer door. checked in, rested a bit, dropped off bags, and then headed out to the city. the most popular and most known area in toyko. SHIBUYA. according to japan records, theres an average about 5 million people to walk on this specific intersection right outside the SHIBUYA train station. freakin nuts right? but yeah met up with michaels friends cat and vicky which are both ucsd akpsi alums, very friendly people who brought us to a nice tapa restaurant. i never heard of this till this trip but it must be somewhat common, but a tapa kind of restaurant is when you order a bunch of small dishes and drink. its like half dinner and half gettin drunk, we were all pleased to indulge ourselves after a long day of traveling with our bags. after a night of dinner, drinking, some arcading, and shopping. we called it a nite.
day 2
kyoto
woke up fuckin early in toyko to have a full planned out day in kyoto. the train ride is about 3hrs from tokyo to kyoto, so that was the time to sleep. go to kyoto...took a bus to our hostel and checked in. this hostel was freakin ridiculous. theres not many ways to describe it but it was just unique, old, traditional, and ghetto. hopefully they'll be pics posted up on facebook. it was really a once in a lifetime place to see and to stay for a nite. haha. after grabbing lunch went to the GOLDEN temple which is a famous place in kyoto. it was a tite place, very scenic but a lot smaller than i pictured it. nonetheless, a very good spot to see for its historic purpose. btw, it started to RAIN this day and everyone was outdoors -_-. wasnt too pleasent, so after the temple headed back to the hostel and walked around its streets. as walking through the streets, i found out that pachinko, some kind gambling slot machine is VERY popular. a lot of districts/cities ive hitted up always had a pachinko slot machine area near by. didnt know how to play, but if i did, i wouldve tried it out. after resting a bit then went to dinner... during dinner we discussed the plan for the next day, which was waking up early and headin to osaka [its about 30 min train ride from kyoto] went back to hostel after dinner but before heading back, we made sure to make a pit stop at a quickie mart to pick up some goodies, alcohol. =D. japan had a wide varities of mixed cocktails in cans, it was crazy and we made sure to pick up a good amount to test it out with a good amount of beer and a carton of sake. it was a good nite of drinking, chillin, and planning the next day. during this nite, some 2 random white boys living at the hostel decided to crash our room part/meeting and started to talk about themselvles. so CHECK it...
we met two 22-23 year old white boys from virgina who are HITCHHIKING through japan. they simply bought a ticket to japan and fuckin literally put up a sign while standing on the street beggin for a ride to the next city. its ridiculous. i forgot how far they traveled but from my understanding, theyve journeyed pretty far gettin free meals and housing from random strangers. ridiculous right? they said they used this site... couchsurfing.com looks pretty legit. one random fact. one of the white boys had a tatoo of the death eater symbol from harry potter. seemed pretty creepy and ridiculous. but yeah, if ever you travel and stay in a hostel. be prepared to meet some wacky motherfuckers. they were friendly and all, but seemed a lil corky.
after drinking and planning. called it a nite and woke up around 6am the next morning -_-
btw, during my time in japan. sleepin was very minimal. we litterally woke up as early as 4 during our stay out here. the avg amount of sleep went from 2-5hrs a nite, depending on how much we were out for. but to be honest, a tip for travelers who dont have much days while traveling. u rather give up sleep then give up time in a foreign country. start days early, plan, and end them late. haha
but yeah
day 3.
osaka
took train, decided not to crash a nite at osaka so we would save time seeing osaka. by doing this, we saved a bunch of time and we would have just trained back to tokyo at nite instead of early the next morning. . so we left all our shit at the osaka train station locker and headed to the famous osaka castle museum! the castlel was tite and very historic. i really enjoy seeing historic/sightseeing things in general. i find them to be interesting and meaningful, but yeah. the castle joint had many snacks, stores, and people. one of the biggest regret ive had on this trip was that there was this characacher artist who drew people japanese anime style! he was fuckin talented and it looked hella tite. we didnt have enough time to hit him up since we had a strict schedule to follow and it wouldve sucked if only one or two of us got it while the other 7 didnt. but regardless, the castle was tite. right outside the castle, there was this kendo stick competition that we snuck in to see. fuckin intense. those kendo sticks can do some damage. after spending a few hours in the castle area, which id like to add was very peaceful and insightful.
but yeah. after castle went to the most famous aquairum in japan. osaka aquarium in KAIYUKAN. the aquarium was tite. they had a whale shark! O_O spent a few hours there looking at a gang of fish, stingrays, penguins, aligators, beavers, jellyfish, more fish, turtles, dolphins, some fish, a couple of sharks, and of course a gang of fish. very nice joint. after another few hours in the aquarium, hit up an arcade right outside and played some games. i love arcades haha. i really miss dnbs, i really enjoyed just kickin back and playin games. i think thats one of the first things i'll do wen im back. shoot some zombies, race some daytona, shoot some hoops, and doin all this with some tasty beer.
back to japan...
after all a long full day of events rushed back to the train station to catch the last train from osaka to toyko.
got back to toyko, and planned the next day/s. no drinkin this nite. had to wake up at 4am the next day....
day 4
BACK to toyko
woke up at 4am so we could go to some crazy fish market. every morning at this fish market. TSUKIJI was the place and our goal was to reach there before 530 to see some chopped up fish. the fish market was not like no farmers market, it was fuckin nuts. it was like a huge warehouse of fish that were literally just pulled on to shore 2hrs ago. pictures are best to describe this joint. but it was nice to see some fisherman do their work and chop up fish in front my eyes. the warehouse was huge and it was really hard to get thru and view the joint since all the workers are still working. im not gonna lie, if i was a fisherman working on that pier/post, id be fuckin pissed. so many tourists walk thru the areas clogging up aisleways, but seriously fuck it. im american haha and whens the next time i'll see a tuna about 3 feet tall [no joke.] after viewing and causing huge ruckus and making the fishermans life harder which i bet, goes through everyday since this is a HUGE tourist thing in osaka. but yeah. after, had a sashimi breakfast and walked the streets all before 8am. o_O great morning.
after that..headed to HARAJUKU which is a huge shopping area for stuff. from my understanding, the first bape store was there. i could be wrong! but yeah, the place was tite, a huge shopping district! tons of stores. tons of girls. tons of walking. spent a few hours there and it was great. stores like stussy, bape, bbc, neighborhood, undefeated, and yada yada yada were all there. im not gonna lie, the average person in japan got TONS of style man. japan is the king of style, everyone from kids to grandpas got stylo. i was very surprised. and id like to adddddd....majority of the girls in japan are hot. O_O realllll hot, a HUGE change for me from dirty ugly china girls. japan is where its at for hot asian chicks. hit it up fellas. but yeah
shopped..bought a shirt, my goal was kicks but nothing i found out here was calling my name, so another day =T
after spending hours in this district...headed back to hostel and rested a bit. took a nap, dropped bags off, and then headed to dinner. btw, this was our last nite in japan so had to go nuts. dinner consisted of a gang of sake and beer. after a late and long dinner, walked the streets of tokyo with a bottles of sakes in our hands to keep the night going. majority of the group went back to hostel before 2am since there was a lock out from 2-430am and they didnt want to stay up that late since there wasnt much goin on other than walkin the streets and hittin up bars. so me, marvy marv, and miko stayed out till 430 drinkin sake and roaming the streets. great time with those fellas. hahaha a lot couldve happened but we just kept it chill and roamed around. got back to the hostel around 4am and literally SLEPT outside the hostel doors till it opened. i was fuckin trashed this nite btw. great last nite in japan.
day 5
leavin toyko
woke up at 10. thank god for sleeping in. but yeah. last day was chill. went back to the area of SHIBUYA where the big intersection was. had lunch, shopped and was enjoying the last hours of japan. hit up airport and kissed japan goodbye.
overall, i think japan was probably the most nicest countries ive been to, ridiculously clean and friendly. btw, noone speaks english OR chinese. communicating was freakin hard, nothing but pointing and sign language.
random notes
big thank you for evan joyce miko and alex for planning the trip. without them, we'd do shit. another shoutout for miko alex and joyce for knowing SOME japanese to get by. haha
but yeah other notesss...
-japan girls are hot
-subways are fuckin packed - at one stop. we waited about 30min-1hr for a subway for reasons which couldve been a suicide. japan is known to be the most sucidial country and cat [a local of 1 year] said that many people commit suicide by jumping into subways -_-. fuckin sad and ridiculous right? she claimeed that its common and that subways are lagged cause of it. cant believe it, but its true.
-japan has exclusive snacks and goodies - example. green tea kit kats. fuckin bomb. green tea orea mcflurrys and kit kat mcflurrys. double bomb.
-not only does japan have exclusive snacks, but STOGS TOO! they had this mild7 methol that was bomb and i prayed for a carton at the duty free buttttt, they dont sell it at duty free :( wished i bought more. im usually not a fan of menthols, but the mild7s are my fav stogs. aqua menthol was the name. let me know if you see it.
-everyone in japan got style
-at every news stand they sold some kind of porn. japanese people are pervs.
-public transportation, housing, and food is what most of my money is spent on when i travel.
-the AIR is crisp and clean in japan compared to other parts of asia ive been to [china, taiwan, hk]
- i always thought hongkong was clean, nice, and pretty but japan beats it BY FAR!
-japanese people are friendly and short, i felt like a giant there. everyone is just short, dont know why.
lastly.
everyone should visit japan. great times and i wish i could go back one day.
this has been probably the most detailed post ive ever posted. hope you all enjoyed. toook me forever to write it. my fingers and hands are tired beyond belief!
ill make sure to post more before i leave.
my school ends july5 which means i have lil over a month left before im done. i may hit up taiwan after for a few weeks to see family and kick it with my pops so my ETA [estimated time of arrival] back to the states should be no later than mid july.
i miss home to some degree, its not homesick, but i guess i just miss seeing familiar faces especially my bro and mom. hope all is well with everyone!
go lakers! lakers in 5!!!
btw, ive been freakin sad because i rarely get to watch full games now. readin espn articles and watching highlights is all i got =T
well im tired and im done blogging. this shits been way tooo longgg
stay pimpin everyone
ryannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
the cities ive visited was tokyo, kyoto, and osaka. i only spent 5 days and 4 nights there but made the most of it. wish i couldve been out there longer but i ditched MORE than enough school. i ditched school to a point where i HOPE i wont get in trouble. i need these credits or im fucked and heading straight to a jc for chinese =\ so lets hope that everything is okay for my sake.
so the line up was.... michael joyce alex evan yiling marvin julie conway and myself. joyce and alex were the only non first timers of japan so it was a great experience for us japan virgins.
so lets go through each day out in japannn!
day 1. tokyo - flight was 10am from shanghai which meant waking up around 6am to get to the airport on time. landed in japan around 2ish. took 130hr train to toyko, from train station subwayed to SHINJUKU which where our hostel was. check this, our hostel was one of those places where you sleep in a hole in the wall cabin ish things. think of a morgue, and thats how our beds were without the freezer door. checked in, rested a bit, dropped off bags, and then headed out to the city. the most popular and most known area in toyko. SHIBUYA. according to japan records, theres an average about 5 million people to walk on this specific intersection right outside the SHIBUYA train station. freakin nuts right? but yeah met up with michaels friends cat and vicky which are both ucsd akpsi alums, very friendly people who brought us to a nice tapa restaurant. i never heard of this till this trip but it must be somewhat common, but a tapa kind of restaurant is when you order a bunch of small dishes and drink. its like half dinner and half gettin drunk, we were all pleased to indulge ourselves after a long day of traveling with our bags. after a night of dinner, drinking, some arcading, and shopping. we called it a nite.
day 2
kyoto
woke up fuckin early in toyko to have a full planned out day in kyoto. the train ride is about 3hrs from tokyo to kyoto, so that was the time to sleep. go to kyoto...took a bus to our hostel and checked in. this hostel was freakin ridiculous. theres not many ways to describe it but it was just unique, old, traditional, and ghetto. hopefully they'll be pics posted up on facebook. it was really a once in a lifetime place to see and to stay for a nite. haha. after grabbing lunch went to the GOLDEN temple which is a famous place in kyoto. it was a tite place, very scenic but a lot smaller than i pictured it. nonetheless, a very good spot to see for its historic purpose. btw, it started to RAIN this day and everyone was outdoors -_-. wasnt too pleasent, so after the temple headed back to the hostel and walked around its streets. as walking through the streets, i found out that pachinko, some kind gambling slot machine is VERY popular. a lot of districts/cities ive hitted up always had a pachinko slot machine area near by. didnt know how to play, but if i did, i wouldve tried it out. after resting a bit then went to dinner... during dinner we discussed the plan for the next day, which was waking up early and headin to osaka [its about 30 min train ride from kyoto] went back to hostel after dinner but before heading back, we made sure to make a pit stop at a quickie mart to pick up some goodies, alcohol. =D. japan had a wide varities of mixed cocktails in cans, it was crazy and we made sure to pick up a good amount to test it out with a good amount of beer and a carton of sake. it was a good nite of drinking, chillin, and planning the next day. during this nite, some 2 random white boys living at the hostel decided to crash our room part/meeting and started to talk about themselvles. so CHECK it...
we met two 22-23 year old white boys from virgina who are HITCHHIKING through japan. they simply bought a ticket to japan and fuckin literally put up a sign while standing on the street beggin for a ride to the next city. its ridiculous. i forgot how far they traveled but from my understanding, theyve journeyed pretty far gettin free meals and housing from random strangers. ridiculous right? they said they used this site... couchsurfing.com looks pretty legit. one random fact. one of the white boys had a tatoo of the death eater symbol from harry potter. seemed pretty creepy and ridiculous. but yeah, if ever you travel and stay in a hostel. be prepared to meet some wacky motherfuckers. they were friendly and all, but seemed a lil corky.
after drinking and planning. called it a nite and woke up around 6am the next morning -_-
btw, during my time in japan. sleepin was very minimal. we litterally woke up as early as 4 during our stay out here. the avg amount of sleep went from 2-5hrs a nite, depending on how much we were out for. but to be honest, a tip for travelers who dont have much days while traveling. u rather give up sleep then give up time in a foreign country. start days early, plan, and end them late. haha
but yeah
day 3.
osaka
took train, decided not to crash a nite at osaka so we would save time seeing osaka. by doing this, we saved a bunch of time and we would have just trained back to tokyo at nite instead of early the next morning. . so we left all our shit at the osaka train station locker and headed to the famous osaka castle museum! the castlel was tite and very historic. i really enjoy seeing historic/sightseeing things in general. i find them to be interesting and meaningful, but yeah. the castle joint had many snacks, stores, and people. one of the biggest regret ive had on this trip was that there was this characacher artist who drew people japanese anime style! he was fuckin talented and it looked hella tite. we didnt have enough time to hit him up since we had a strict schedule to follow and it wouldve sucked if only one or two of us got it while the other 7 didnt. but regardless, the castle was tite. right outside the castle, there was this kendo stick competition that we snuck in to see. fuckin intense. those kendo sticks can do some damage. after spending a few hours in the castle area, which id like to add was very peaceful and insightful.
but yeah. after castle went to the most famous aquairum in japan. osaka aquarium in KAIYUKAN. the aquarium was tite. they had a whale shark! O_O spent a few hours there looking at a gang of fish, stingrays, penguins, aligators, beavers, jellyfish, more fish, turtles, dolphins, some fish, a couple of sharks, and of course a gang of fish. very nice joint. after another few hours in the aquarium, hit up an arcade right outside and played some games. i love arcades haha. i really miss dnbs, i really enjoyed just kickin back and playin games. i think thats one of the first things i'll do wen im back. shoot some zombies, race some daytona, shoot some hoops, and doin all this with some tasty beer.
back to japan...
after all a long full day of events rushed back to the train station to catch the last train from osaka to toyko.
got back to toyko, and planned the next day/s. no drinkin this nite. had to wake up at 4am the next day....
day 4
BACK to toyko
woke up at 4am so we could go to some crazy fish market. every morning at this fish market. TSUKIJI was the place and our goal was to reach there before 530 to see some chopped up fish. the fish market was not like no farmers market, it was fuckin nuts. it was like a huge warehouse of fish that were literally just pulled on to shore 2hrs ago. pictures are best to describe this joint. but it was nice to see some fisherman do their work and chop up fish in front my eyes. the warehouse was huge and it was really hard to get thru and view the joint since all the workers are still working. im not gonna lie, if i was a fisherman working on that pier/post, id be fuckin pissed. so many tourists walk thru the areas clogging up aisleways, but seriously fuck it. im american haha and whens the next time i'll see a tuna about 3 feet tall [no joke.] after viewing and causing huge ruckus and making the fishermans life harder which i bet, goes through everyday since this is a HUGE tourist thing in osaka. but yeah. after, had a sashimi breakfast and walked the streets all before 8am. o_O great morning.
after that..headed to HARAJUKU which is a huge shopping area for stuff. from my understanding, the first bape store was there. i could be wrong! but yeah, the place was tite, a huge shopping district! tons of stores. tons of girls. tons of walking. spent a few hours there and it was great. stores like stussy, bape, bbc, neighborhood, undefeated, and yada yada yada were all there. im not gonna lie, the average person in japan got TONS of style man. japan is the king of style, everyone from kids to grandpas got stylo. i was very surprised. and id like to adddddd....majority of the girls in japan are hot. O_O realllll hot, a HUGE change for me from dirty ugly china girls. japan is where its at for hot asian chicks. hit it up fellas. but yeah
shopped..bought a shirt, my goal was kicks but nothing i found out here was calling my name, so another day =T
after spending hours in this district...headed back to hostel and rested a bit. took a nap, dropped bags off, and then headed to dinner. btw, this was our last nite in japan so had to go nuts. dinner consisted of a gang of sake and beer. after a late and long dinner, walked the streets of tokyo with a bottles of sakes in our hands to keep the night going. majority of the group went back to hostel before 2am since there was a lock out from 2-430am and they didnt want to stay up that late since there wasnt much goin on other than walkin the streets and hittin up bars. so me, marvy marv, and miko stayed out till 430 drinkin sake and roaming the streets. great time with those fellas. hahaha a lot couldve happened but we just kept it chill and roamed around. got back to the hostel around 4am and literally SLEPT outside the hostel doors till it opened. i was fuckin trashed this nite btw. great last nite in japan.
day 5
leavin toyko
woke up at 10. thank god for sleeping in. but yeah. last day was chill. went back to the area of SHIBUYA where the big intersection was. had lunch, shopped and was enjoying the last hours of japan. hit up airport and kissed japan goodbye.
overall, i think japan was probably the most nicest countries ive been to, ridiculously clean and friendly. btw, noone speaks english OR chinese. communicating was freakin hard, nothing but pointing and sign language.
random notes
big thank you for evan joyce miko and alex for planning the trip. without them, we'd do shit. another shoutout for miko alex and joyce for knowing SOME japanese to get by. haha
but yeah other notesss...
-japan girls are hot
-subways are fuckin packed - at one stop. we waited about 30min-1hr for a subway for reasons which couldve been a suicide. japan is known to be the most sucidial country and cat [a local of 1 year] said that many people commit suicide by jumping into subways -_-. fuckin sad and ridiculous right? she claimeed that its common and that subways are lagged cause of it. cant believe it, but its true.
-japan has exclusive snacks and goodies - example. green tea kit kats. fuckin bomb. green tea orea mcflurrys and kit kat mcflurrys. double bomb.
-not only does japan have exclusive snacks, but STOGS TOO! they had this mild7 methol that was bomb and i prayed for a carton at the duty free buttttt, they dont sell it at duty free :( wished i bought more. im usually not a fan of menthols, but the mild7s are my fav stogs. aqua menthol was the name. let me know if you see it.
-everyone in japan got style
-at every news stand they sold some kind of porn. japanese people are pervs.
-public transportation, housing, and food is what most of my money is spent on when i travel.
-the AIR is crisp and clean in japan compared to other parts of asia ive been to [china, taiwan, hk]
- i always thought hongkong was clean, nice, and pretty but japan beats it BY FAR!
-japanese people are friendly and short, i felt like a giant there. everyone is just short, dont know why.
lastly.
everyone should visit japan. great times and i wish i could go back one day.
this has been probably the most detailed post ive ever posted. hope you all enjoyed. toook me forever to write it. my fingers and hands are tired beyond belief!
ill make sure to post more before i leave.
my school ends july5 which means i have lil over a month left before im done. i may hit up taiwan after for a few weeks to see family and kick it with my pops so my ETA [estimated time of arrival] back to the states should be no later than mid july.
i miss home to some degree, its not homesick, but i guess i just miss seeing familiar faces especially my bro and mom. hope all is well with everyone!
go lakers! lakers in 5!!!
btw, ive been freakin sad because i rarely get to watch full games now. readin espn articles and watching highlights is all i got =T
well im tired and im done blogging. this shits been way tooo longgg
stay pimpin everyone
ryannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Thursday, May 22, 2008
what up folksss
i must apologize for my lack of entries. ever since i came back from thailand and taiwan ive been busy catching up with school and just simply being lazy. some updates...
thailand was great and beautiful
taiwan was chill and family orientated
school has been school, im about the ONE MORE MONTH mark O_O!
weather in shanghai is starting to get disgusting hot
im going to japan tomorrow!
i recently started getting into dexter...good show
lakers came back from a 20point deficit
other than that...life has been chill. everyday is eventful with goin to the city, EATING, bball, reading up espn and cnn, chilling, sleeping, and just makin the most of everything
i know this is a really shitty post and i really gotta keep myself motivated for the blog before it dies. i for sure will be more on top of my updating.
but before i go....i'll just say some stuff to make this read worthy...
thailand had the most beautiful beaches ive ever seen. the water was see through blue. so clear i couldve seen FISHES swimming next to me. there are some great pictures on facebook if you guys want a real visual. i was in thailand for a pretty long time...about 10 days. during those 10 days, 2 of them were spent on traveling alone, lay over times in the airport and just a bunch of delays. the trip overall was great and i promise ill be more detailed when im back.
at thailand...
stayed in bangkok for a couple days
found out how disgusting yet real lookin LADYboys are -_-
visited krabi island
rode an elephant
scuba dived
kayaked
snorkeled
ate delicious thai food [curries, noodles, and thai style pancakes (sorta like crepes)]
did a lot of fun and outdoor activities
visited city ruins, temples, buddhas, and the buddha statue in sagets level on street fighter!
well its about 110am and i gotta be up by 6am to make it to my 10am flight to japan. ill fill in more details laterrrr!
take care everyone. stay well stay healthy stay happy! peace everyone
ryannnnn
btw, im freakin excited to see japan. cant wait to see the bright lights and the beautiful country sides. ill tell you all about it later!
go lakers!
i must apologize for my lack of entries. ever since i came back from thailand and taiwan ive been busy catching up with school and just simply being lazy. some updates...
thailand was great and beautiful
taiwan was chill and family orientated
school has been school, im about the ONE MORE MONTH mark O_O!
weather in shanghai is starting to get disgusting hot
im going to japan tomorrow!
i recently started getting into dexter...good show
lakers came back from a 20point deficit
other than that...life has been chill. everyday is eventful with goin to the city, EATING, bball, reading up espn and cnn, chilling, sleeping, and just makin the most of everything
i know this is a really shitty post and i really gotta keep myself motivated for the blog before it dies. i for sure will be more on top of my updating.
but before i go....i'll just say some stuff to make this read worthy...
thailand had the most beautiful beaches ive ever seen. the water was see through blue. so clear i couldve seen FISHES swimming next to me. there are some great pictures on facebook if you guys want a real visual. i was in thailand for a pretty long time...about 10 days. during those 10 days, 2 of them were spent on traveling alone, lay over times in the airport and just a bunch of delays. the trip overall was great and i promise ill be more detailed when im back.
at thailand...
stayed in bangkok for a couple days
found out how disgusting yet real lookin LADYboys are -_-
visited krabi island
rode an elephant
scuba dived
kayaked
snorkeled
ate delicious thai food [curries, noodles, and thai style pancakes (sorta like crepes)]
did a lot of fun and outdoor activities
visited city ruins, temples, buddhas, and the buddha statue in sagets level on street fighter!
well its about 110am and i gotta be up by 6am to make it to my 10am flight to japan. ill fill in more details laterrrr!
take care everyone. stay well stay healthy stay happy! peace everyone
ryannnnn
btw, im freakin excited to see japan. cant wait to see the bright lights and the beautiful country sides. ill tell you all about it later!
go lakers!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
post 15
what up folks
i didnt write much about this before because i wasnt sure i was going or not, but i am going to thailand! O_O. i have never ever been there and i can only imagine how crazy it'll be. i have a couple days off from school due to the chinese labor day weekend. but in all, i will be missing a gang of school. im leaving TODAY, may 1st and will be returning may 13. may 1-9 thailand and may 9-13 taipei! im only goin to taipei since its my grandpas 87 birthday and i should be going, i cant remember the last time i ever celebrated my grandpas bday. its a short pit-stop trip to taipei, but my dad insisted that i go so i'll be headin to taiwan after the 9 days of thailand. its gonna be a long 2 weeks for me. i'll make sure to update when i get back
i hope all is well and everyone is well! go lakers! i hope i'll be able to watch some playoff games in thai. the weather in thailand is 95 degrees -_-
heres my flight schedule for the next few weeks. in order to save some money we bought a lot of tickets from different airlines
shanghai to shenzhen [shenzhen, boarder of china near hongkong]
shenzhen to bangkok
bangkok to krabi
krabi to phuket [boat]
now check this. this is my way back to shanghai.
phuket to krabi [boat]
krabi to bangkok
bangkok to TAIPEI
taipei to hk
hk to shanghai
there are a lot of layovers and i will be visiting a GANG of airports in 2 weeks. gonna be a crazy 2 weeks. i'll fill you in with everything
stay pimpin
stay healthy
stay happy
peace
ryan
i didnt write much about this before because i wasnt sure i was going or not, but i am going to thailand! O_O. i have never ever been there and i can only imagine how crazy it'll be. i have a couple days off from school due to the chinese labor day weekend. but in all, i will be missing a gang of school. im leaving TODAY, may 1st and will be returning may 13. may 1-9 thailand and may 9-13 taipei! im only goin to taipei since its my grandpas 87 birthday and i should be going, i cant remember the last time i ever celebrated my grandpas bday. its a short pit-stop trip to taipei, but my dad insisted that i go so i'll be headin to taiwan after the 9 days of thailand. its gonna be a long 2 weeks for me. i'll make sure to update when i get back
i hope all is well and everyone is well! go lakers! i hope i'll be able to watch some playoff games in thai. the weather in thailand is 95 degrees -_-
heres my flight schedule for the next few weeks. in order to save some money we bought a lot of tickets from different airlines
shanghai to shenzhen [shenzhen, boarder of china near hongkong]
shenzhen to bangkok
bangkok to krabi
krabi to phuket [boat]
now check this. this is my way back to shanghai.
phuket to krabi [boat]
krabi to bangkok
bangkok to TAIPEI
taipei to hk
hk to shanghai
there are a lot of layovers and i will be visiting a GANG of airports in 2 weeks. gonna be a crazy 2 weeks. i'll fill you in with everything
stay pimpin
stay healthy
stay happy
peace
ryan
Sunday, April 27, 2008
post 14
what up.
its 530am right now and i cannot go back to sleep so i decided to just blog a little.
some updates:
i have my chinese exams today tomorrow and the day after that.
2 today - reading and listening class
2 tmw - speakin and writing
1 weds - grammar
all my exams are at 8am -_-
ridiculous right?
within this past week there has been a couple of birthdays
april 21st - mine! im 23!
april 25 - alex wueste
april 27 - marvin coo
so ive been celebrating a lot this week.
next update
after my exams i actually have a couple of days off due to the national holiday. chinese labor day. its like...3-5 days off school and a good time for students to travel out of the country. i was PLANNING to go to thailand with the same peeps i went to hongkong with but from the looks of it...i dont know anymore. my dad emailed me last week that id have to go to taiwan for my grandpas bday which im excited and not complaining to go. family comes first, also wouldnt you like your grandson to attend your 87th birthday? i wouldnt hurt right? but yeah. back to the point...i was told that my gramps bday was the may 5th so i thought i couldnt hit up thailand since id be in taipei. BUT a newsflash hit me just 2 days ago...my gramps bday is may 10. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm what to do now. should i hit up thailand with the fellas for a couple of days and then fly to taiwan? or chill in the dorms solo since ALL my friends are going to hongkong, thailand, hainan, and who knows where. so yeah, i guess im thinkin about what i should do. but yeah gotta make a decision soon. break begins right after my weds exam.
be sure to let you know
next business...
go lakers! 3-0
dont got much else to say, im pretty tired. im actually debating if i should post this. seems pretty dry and not interesting. oh well
hope all is well everyone.
stay pimpin
stay healthy
stay true
a very tired ryan
its 530am right now and i cannot go back to sleep so i decided to just blog a little.
some updates:
i have my chinese exams today tomorrow and the day after that.
2 today - reading and listening class
2 tmw - speakin and writing
1 weds - grammar
all my exams are at 8am -_-
ridiculous right?
within this past week there has been a couple of birthdays
april 21st - mine! im 23!
april 25 - alex wueste
april 27 - marvin coo
so ive been celebrating a lot this week.
next update
after my exams i actually have a couple of days off due to the national holiday. chinese labor day. its like...3-5 days off school and a good time for students to travel out of the country. i was PLANNING to go to thailand with the same peeps i went to hongkong with but from the looks of it...i dont know anymore. my dad emailed me last week that id have to go to taiwan for my grandpas bday which im excited and not complaining to go. family comes first, also wouldnt you like your grandson to attend your 87th birthday? i wouldnt hurt right? but yeah. back to the point...i was told that my gramps bday was the may 5th so i thought i couldnt hit up thailand since id be in taipei. BUT a newsflash hit me just 2 days ago...my gramps bday is may 10. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm what to do now. should i hit up thailand with the fellas for a couple of days and then fly to taiwan? or chill in the dorms solo since ALL my friends are going to hongkong, thailand, hainan, and who knows where. so yeah, i guess im thinkin about what i should do. but yeah gotta make a decision soon. break begins right after my weds exam.
be sure to let you know
next business...
go lakers! 3-0
dont got much else to say, im pretty tired. im actually debating if i should post this. seems pretty dry and not interesting. oh well
hope all is well everyone.
stay pimpin
stay healthy
stay true
a very tired ryan
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