2018
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Frontenac State Park
Dec 25, 2018This year, we celebrated brown Christmas in Frontenac State Park. Amid government shutdown, we weren’t sure the state park would be opened but decided to chance it and drive there anyway. The park was opened but there were no employees seen and the restrooms were closed. Although the temperature was below the freezing mark, our… Read more…
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Fraser’s Hill
Nov 3, 2018 to Nov 6, 2018We made an excursion to Fraser’s Hill, located on the Titiwangsa Range at the border between the states of Selangor and Pahang. The drive to the destination took exactly 3 hours. The last stretch was an hour of puke-inducing dizzy drive on a long winding narrow road. We rented a spacious bungalow in a secluded… Read more…
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Fuzhou
Oct 22, 2018 to Oct 24, 2018Unlike other cities we visited in China, our guided tour didn’t cover Fuzhou. Rather, we were there to visit our long-distance relatives. While some of the elders from our group have met them in the past, it was our first time meeting them. Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, is one of the world’s fastest… Read more…
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Hangzhou
Oct 20, 2018 to Oct 21, 2018From Suzhou, we traveled 2 hours to Hangzhou. Hangzhou was the capital of China during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279) and it is one of China’s 7 ancient capitals (the rest are Beijing, Xian, Nanjin, Luoyang, Kaifeng and Anyang). In Hangzhou, we had the opportunity to taste and buy Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea, the most… Read more…
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Xitang & Suzhou
Oct 18, 2018 to Oct 19, 2018From Shanghai, we traveled 2 hours west to Xitang, an ancient water town with more than a thousand years of history. Known as the “Venice of the East”, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou form a triangle consisting of ancient towns that mostly built around the complex canal systems, rivers and lakes. Xitang, together with with Zhouzhuang,… Read more…
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Shanghai
Oct 17, 2018Since we arrived a night before, we had a whole day to explore Shanghai. Similar to the tour setup in Beijing, we had a different set of tour guide, driver and transportation to cover the upcoming 4 cities: Shanghai, Xitang, Suzhou and Hangzhou. We spent the entire morning wandering along the Shanghai Old Street and… Read more…
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Beijing
Oct 12, 2018 to Oct 16, 2018We finally made it to China! It all began with Angelina’s dad wanting to revisit China. After taking a few months to plan this intricate 13-day trip, we were able to make it a reality. There were 13 of us: parents, San Gu and San Gu Zhang, Yien Gu and Yien Gu Zhang, Eng Gu,… Read more…
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Camping in Scenic State Park
Sep 6, 2018 to Sep 9, 2018A week prior to this camping trip, we had been watching the weather forecast intently because it had rain the entire week due to the slow moving tropical storm. Fortunately, the cold front from Canada prevented the storm from moving further north and we were spared from having to deal with wet days throughout the… Read more…
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Kayaking on Zumbro River
Aug 25, 2018Spent a splendid day kayaking on the Zumbro River with Cristine and David. We parked our vehicle in Hammond before hitching a ride with our friends to Zumbro Falls. After renting our kayaks at a nearby outfitter for $30 each, we leisurely floated for a little more than 3 hours. The Zumbro River between Zumbro… Read more…
