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Durant posted this picture of himself and a couple USA basketball teammates on Segways this morning with the caption, "Barcelona." The 1992 Dream Team partied with the locals 'til all hours; the 2012 version of USA Basketball Instagrams photos of themselves on Segways, wearing helmets.
The squad beat up on Spain in their semi-meaningful exhibition yesterday, and their first official game of the tournament is Sunday, against France. Barcelona is about 1,100 miles from London, and Segways have a top speed of about 10 miles per hour, so they will be late.

subset: commoncrawl


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iBreath, the iPod Breathalizer
The ultimate iPod accessory, the iBreath, aims to keep us all safe with an easy to use breathalyzer for the iPod and iPhone. The small device attaches to the iPod's charging port, needs no additional power and even doubles as an FM Transmitter to stream your tunes in the car.
Some drink driving prevention advocates say that the iBreath may be misused and allow drunk driver to "practice" taking a breathalyzer. There will always be … Read more


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Rollei develops and produces photo and camera accessories for professional & amateur photographers which serve to bring your subjects and your favourite moments to life to capture them professionally and with your own visual aesthetics, in any setting and at any time. Therefore, we supply photo and video products which facilitate creative picture composition for portraits and architectural shots in travel and landscape photography and also ensure that the quality of your pictures and videos is high. For example, as our camera tripods stabilize your camera, studio flash units improve the lighting conditions indoors and outdoors, camera lens filters make creative picture design such as long-term exposure and a maximum aperture in daylight possible, (grey filters / ND filters) or our photo accessories provide for the protection of your high-quality photo and camera equipment like for instance our Fotoliner camera backpacks & camera bags .
Innovation, user-friendliness and practical relevance: this DNA has been in each individual product in our company's history since 1920 and is derived exclusively from the desires, requirements and ideas of photographers who are outdoors in natural surroundings, underwater, in the air or in their studios. We offer well thought-out, practical solutions, which function reliably, even under extreme conditions delivering exceptional results. We are always striving to develop photo accessories, which are both sturdy and long-lasting as well as being practical to carry and use.
Large selection of tripods, camera filters, studio equipment & more gear in the official Rollei online shop
Studio flash units made by Rollei
With our HS Freeze 4 & HS Freeze 6 studio flash units we supply exactly what modern photographers need Indoors and outdoors in order to present their subject in a favourable light. It doesn't matter, where they are. Ultra-short flash durations of up to 1/19,000 second, an extremely long battery life, a low weight and a very powerful flash and all of that without cables or accessories.The motto of the HS Freeze series is "The world is your studio". The practical IR slave release is only one of many options for the operation of our studio flash units.
Tripods made by Rollei
For example. our carbon travel tripods are not only extremely stable and of high quality, but, in spite of a high working height they have a small packed size and a low dead weight.In addition you can also obtain special mini tripods, which are ideally suitable for micro and macro photography and comfortable to transport. Our tripods are also impressive due to their simple, fast assembly in a few seconds and further sophisticated functions. With our three different tripod series for every occasion & photographer you always get exactly what you are looking for and not a run-of-the-mill standard solution.
Tripod series
Camera filters made by Rollei
Our camera filters come with a special dust and dirt-repellent coating and high-quality Gorilla? glass.Together, these components guarantee the slightest reflections, absolute colour neutrality and a high degree of light transmission and prevent optical distortions, while the high-quality, durable filter glass is also impressive due to its imperviousness to the weather. In addition, the titanium ring of the photo filters in our Extremium series is impressive due to its dimensional stability in the most extreme temperatures - whether in the desert or the Arctic. We guarantee all of these characteristics with outstandingly strict quality controls in accordance with the AQPL principle and tests in our own filter laboratory.
Photo filter series & types:
- Premium Round Filters
- F:X Pro Square filters
- Astroklar Light Pollution Filters
- Grey Gratuated Filters
- ND Filters
- CPL Filters
- And many more
Rollei wins marketing & innovation prize for 2017/2018
During its adjustment over the last few years to become a specialty provider for professional photo accessories, Rollei has re-invented itself and ranks among the top brands in the photography sector.For this development, Rollei is the current recipient of the Comeback of the Year Award and is thus the winner of the Marketing & Innovation Prize for 2017/2018, presented by the photography trade journal, FOTOwirtschaft.
Trust the brand quality of Rollei.de
When you purchase photo accessories from Rollei, you are relying on years of experience in the production and development of video and photographic products.Therefore, you can put your trust in the best brand quality – made by Rollei.
Beyond our core products like tripods, photo filters and studio flash units you will find even more accessories in the extensive selection in our on-line shop:
Rollei's product range offers not only modern and durable video technology, but also practical, suitable photo accessories for professionals, ambitious amateur photographers, outdoor sports enthusiasts, pioneers, explorers and light artists.
In the official Rollei.de shop you will find both a large selection of photo and video equipment for professionals such as our new round Extremium screw-on filter with a titanium ring and Gorilla? glass, for everlasting dimensional stability at any temperature and an excellent colour neutrality of the filter glass as well as photography equipment for discerning amateurs. From the practical tripod for beginners to high-quality carbon tripods for the ambitious professional photographer, Rollei is firmly established in the tripod market.Flash units, flash accessories and photo filters in round and angular form are provided in our photo accessories, with which you can let your creativity fully unfold.
Interaction, consultation & service - Rollei Interactive
We are delighted to receive feedback in order to constantly develop our products and ranges further. Numerous product tests with photographers and interested parties help us to understand your challenges and needs better and to optimize our products. Feel free to contact us for example via our Facebook account, Youtube or Instagram.Because if you decide on Rollei photo accessories, then communication goes far beyond the purchase of your product.No matter whether it's extensive consulting and service provision by our Pro-Team, the Rolleimoments app or our Newsletter – we are always happy to provide you with help and advice!
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Human Wrongs Watch
By Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace, Tunis, 27 March 2013 – In early 2011, Tunisia's President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown and the popular uprising in Tunisia was followed shortly by a wave of revolutions in several Arab countries – proving to us all that another world is within our reach.
The explosion of resistance we have been witnessing over the last few years, both in the developed and developing world, is indicative of the fact that when large parts of communities, countries and regions reach such high levels of exclusion, especially in the context of excessive wealth, wastage and inequality, leaders in all sectors of society, not just politicians, must take serious note.
Humanity has already reached a figurative and literal boiling point and we are witnessing a convergence of storms: economic, social and environmental.
A Reality for Far Too Many People in Developing and Developed Countries
The demonstrations that led to the regime change in Tunisia were preceded by numerous signs of civil unrest and injustice: high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, lack of freedom of speech and un-dignifying living conditions for most.
Sadly, this is reality for far too many people in developing and developed countries alike and this is why the World Social Forum (WSF) reflects the frustrations, concerns and aspirations of the majority of people today.
Two years after the Arab Spring, the same country that triggered massive change in Northern Africa and the Middle East is hosting the annual meeting of civil society organisations – the World Social Forum 2013 – a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future based on empowerment of the local, more equitable distribution of wealth and power and more sustainable communities.
World Economic Forum Dominated by Unelected Leaders and Economic Elite
Unlike its rival, the World Economic Forum (WEF), dominated by unelected leaders and economic elites, the World Social Forum with is befitting theme of "Dignity" is timely and relevant, taking place in a region that continues to pursue justice and transformational change, a region that has set new standards for social movements and civil society, but still has a lot of challenges ahead.
It is the frustration and passion of the people who led the Arab Spring and the Occupy Movement that reflect a reality dominated by an acute sense of injustice and an urgent need for transformational change.
This is why this year's WSF is taking place in Tunisia. Global forums focused on system maintenance, system protection and system recovery will continue in places such as the sheltered, posh, mountain resort of Davos in the Swiss Alps.
The World Social Forum can represent the much-needed catalyst for transformational change, provide alternative strategy and offer ways forward for an alternative future based on local empowerment, equitable distribution of wealth and sustainability and not growth at all costs, environmental degradation and crass inequity.
*Kumi Naidoo, born in 1965 and hailing from South Africa, Kumi Naidoo has been Greenpeace's International Executive Director since November 2009. All blogposts by Kumi Naidoo. This eport published by Greenpeace. Go to Original.
**Central photo: World Social Forum 2013 in Tunis.


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You are here
Small Business Owner Expands with 504 Loan, Adding Jobs
Cubby's Child Care Center, a Bridgeport, W.Va. small business has seen its share trials and tribulations the past year. After having their request for having property within the city limits of Bridgeport rezoned for expansion of a new facility denied, they were unsure of their future.
But, after discussing the issue with the Mayor of Bridgeport and the developer of Charles Pointe, West Virginia's newest model community, things changed. The result was construction and grand opening of a state-of-the-art child care facility which tripled Cubby's original square footage and doubled the child care capacity.
"It was a vision from the Lord that got us here and a dream come true to be located at Charles Pointe," said Joe Spatafore, Cubby's owner along with his wife Joyce. "We are very happy we decided to locate here, but couldn't have done it without the help and cooperation from Huntington Bank, Genesis Partnership and the U.S. Small Business Administration."
The Spatafore's utilized the SBA's 504 Certified Development Company loan program through the Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED) to finance the project. The 504 loan, which provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to purchase or construct major fixed assets, was combined with a loan secured by a senior lien from Huntington Bank, to construct the 18,000 square foot facility.
Cubby's was located within the Bridgeport city limits since 1996 at a 6,000 square foot facility just off Main Street and combined with the constant utilization of the Benedum Civic Center, space restrictions at the original Cubby's location capacity was 150. The new Charles Pointe location with a capacity of over 300 has allowed Cubby's to increase their employment by adding 15 new jobs.
"We are absolutely thrilled to be in our new facility," said Jennifer Trippett, co-director of Cubby's along with her sisters Janelle DeMarco and Jeanette Laverdierre. "It has been a smooth transition due to the help and support of the families of our enrolled children as well as the dedication from every one of our employees."
The new facility not only allowed for the increased capacity, but increased classrooms for Pre-K and under from 6 to 14; added four additional rooms for school-age children and a new gymnasium. "Thanks to the ongoing commitment from the community, Huntington Bank, RED and the SBA, we are able to provide a safe, nurturing new environment for the children in the Harrison County area," added Trippett.
The SBA's West Virginia Director Judy McCauley said, "The 504 Loan Program is SBA's economic development tool that supports American small business growth and helps communities through business expansion and job creation. It is an excellent financing source for small businesses like Cubby's Child Care Center because the program usually requires only a 10 percent equity contribution from the small business towards the total project cost. The lower down payment allows the business to conserve valuable working capital for other needs."
The grand opening of the facility and ceremonial ribbon-cutting was held on Friday, July 20, 2007 at their new location at 801 Genesis Boulevard in Charles Pointe. Representatives from the SBA, Huntington Bank, Genesis Partnership, the City of Bridgeport, Office of Governor Joe Manchin and the State of West Virginia joined the Spatafores for the ceremony.
Since its founding more than a half-century ago, the U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered about 24 million loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses. In the Small Business Act of July 30, 1953, Congress created the U.S. Small Business Administration, whose function is to "aid, counsel, assist, and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns." The SBA also helps people recover from disasters and rebuild their lives by providing affordable, timely and accessible financial assistance to homeowners, renters and businesses. The charter also stipulated that the SBA will work to ensure small businesses receive a "fair proportion" of government contracts.
For more information about the SBA, visit their web site at www.sba.gov or contact the West Virginia District Office at (304) 623-5631.


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A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
1766 - 1823
Historical Period:
The 19th Century
Following his success with his work on population, Thomas Malthus (1766-1823) published often from his economics position on the faculty at the East India College at Haileybury. He was not only respected in his time by contemporaneous intellectuals for his clarity of thought and willingness to focus on the evidence at hand, but he was also an engaging writer capable of presenting logical and mathematical concepts succinctly and clearly. In addition to writing principles texts and articles on timely topics such as the corn laws, he wrote in many venues summarizing his initial works on population, including a summary essay in the Encyclopædia Britannica on population. [The image comes from "The Warren J. Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University."]


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Cvent's Chicago meeting planning guide is an extensive city guide for Chicago meeting planners. Though Chicago goes by "The Windy City," "Second City," and even "Chi-Town," it has also been referred to as "The City that Works"—with good reason. The city is home to over 300,000 businesses, and more people travel to Chicago for overnight business than any other U.S. destination. Its accessibility certainly plays a role in its popularity, as about 46 million people are within one day's drive of Chicago. These staggering numbers have a strong impact on the Chicago event-planning world.
Guests from farther destinations—virtually anywhere around the globe—can easily reach the city thanks to its two airports, O'Hare International and Midway International. Voted Best Airport in North America for nine years by Business Traveler magazine, O'Hare welcomes direct nonstop flights from 59 international and 150 domestic business hubs on over 50 different airlines.
When planning meetings in Chicago, accessibility is the name of the game within the city as well. Though spanning over 200 square miles, the city has plenty of affordable and efficient options for traversing from one Chicago meeting hotel or attraction to the next. Guests can enjoy reduced shared taxi fares among McCormick Place, both airports, and downtown on one of the largest taxi fleets in the nation. Visitors can also hop on the Chicago Transit Authority's rapid transit "L" system or buses to reach virtually any point of interest in the urban area. Plus, convention goers can enjoy faster travel—at lower costs to planners—thanks to the dedicated 2.5-mile busway that runs directly from downtown hotels to McCormick Place. Of course when you're talking about large event planning in any city, specifically Chicago event planning, convention centers come to mind.
Once at the convention center, guests continue to be impressed. North America's premier convention facility, McCormick Place offers 2.6 million square feet of exhibit halls, 173 meeting rooms, four ballrooms, and a 4,249-seat theater and three 300-seat theaters. With an on-site business center, award-winning catering, massage stations, and Internet and networking services, the center is more than equipped to make any event a success. Plus, the West building, the center's most recent addition, is LEED certified, meaning that events at McCormick Place can be a winner for attendees and the environment as well.
In fact, the entire city is one of the most environmentally friendly in the nation, thanks to a Chief Environmental Officer in the mayor's cabinet and a comprehensive Environmental Action Agenda. Among Chicago's environmental initiatives are the creation of 2.5 million square feet of rooftop gardens; a goal to make 20 percent of the electricity used be from renewable sources in five years; and hosting the world's only carbon emissions trading floor, the Chicago Climate Exchange. Chicago's efforts was recently named the most sustainable large community in America by Siemens and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Not only is it easy to go green in Chicago, it's easy to add a little green to your events. Thanks to the city's acres of municipal parkland, planners can choose from a wealth of picturesque outdoor venues. The 23 garden displays at the Chicago Botanic Garden are a stunning backdrop for receptions, while the iconic Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park is sure to impress guests with its grand Beaux Arts design. Take a walk on the wild side by hosting an event the Kovler Lion House, Helen Branch Primate House, or one of several other spaces at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Indoor Chicago event venues are just as plentiful. Inspire event attendees with an affair held amongst pieces by Picasso, Matisse, and more at the Art Institute of Chicago. The captivating Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum can host anywhere from 50 to 1,000 guests, and the Museum of Science and Industry is equally suited to upscale affairs and presentations.
A major locus for business, Chicago has an economy that centers heavily on finance. It is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and is home to three major futures exchanges. Insurance, manufacturing, printing, and publishing also play a key role in the metropolitan area's economy. The University of Chicago, DePaul University, University of Illinois Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, and Northwestern University are among the many higher education institutes in the city.
View the other pages in the Chicago Destination Guide to learn more information about event and meeting planning in Chicago.
Though Chicago became the area's first trading post in the 1770s, it was not until the late 19th century that the city took its first steps to becoming a Midwest powerhouse. In 1848, the city's first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, opened, as did the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Chicago's reputation as a transportation hub took off (the city would later become the railroad industry's capital), as did its economy and population. In just 40 years, the population skyrocketed from about 30,000 people to over one million people. At the end of the 19th century it was the fifth-largest city in the world.
Today, the Chicago metropolitan area's over 9.7 million residents represent over half the population of Illinois. A diverse cultural mosaic, the city's ethnicities include African American, Irish, Italian, Mexican, German, Greek—the list goes on and on. The city has the largest ethnically Polish population outside of Warsaw, Poland, and the third-largest South Asian American population in the United States. Take advantage of Chicago's rich blend of people by sampling authentic Italian specialties at The Rosebud or Tuscany Taylor restaurants in Little Italy. View colorful street murals and stop by the National Museum of Mexican Art at Pilsen and Little Village, one of the nation's largest Mexican communities.
Despite its varied demography, the city embraces the past and present that has made all its residents unite as Chicagoans. At the Chicago History Museum, visitors can explore millions of historical artifacts from the city's rich heritage. The Willis Tower Skydeck, the tallest building in North America, not only looks into city history with on-site exhibits but also gives guests a glimpse from 1,353 feet above ground of the entire Chicago landscape as it is today. Navy Pier, the number 1 tourist destination in the Midwest, is a Chicago icon as well. Here, guests can ride the Ferris wheel at Pier Park, catch a show at the IMAX Theatre, or simply spend a day strolling among the shops and vendor stalls.
Certainly another trademark of the city is its delicious cuisine; the city is in fact known for a number of specialties. Indulge in a cheesy slice of Chicago-style deep-dish pizza from Lou Malnati's or Gino's East, or savor the thinly sliced, slow-roasted beef and sweet peppers of a Chicago Italian beef sandwich. Whether enjoyed at Wrigley Field during a Cubs game or on the streets of the bustling city, a Chicago-style hot dog, complete with pickle relish and mustard—never ketchup—is sure to be a home run.
As day turns into night, it's easy to transition from snack food into a filling meal at one of Chicago's fine-dining and nightlife establishments. With a number of eateries owned by celebrity chefs and a wealth of historic, long-running operations, the city's restaurants are among the world's best. Enjoy cooked-to-perfection USDA prime steaks at Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse or decadent French cuisine at Everest, renowned Chef Jean Joho's award-winning eatery.
After dinner, guests can enjoy Chicago's entertainment scene, which ranges from orchestra performances to gut-busting comedy shows. Guests can easily catch a Chicago Symphony Orchestra performance at Symphony Center, or get lost in the sounds of the blues at Kingston Mines, Chicago's oldest blues club. Guests can hit the dance floor at Sound-Bar.
Known as the birthplace of improv, Chicago's famed The Second City is a must-stop for visitors looking for late-night entertainment. Here, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, and a host of other comedians found their footing. Catch the next big thing at its various nightly shows. Though guests may leave the performances in tears, the only real sadness they'll feel is when they have to say a final goodbye to this great city.
All average costs based on U.S. Government Per Diem rates as published by the U.S. General Services Administration.
Chicago, like much of the Midwest, has a climate with a wide range of weather conditions. The city experiences four distinct seasons. In July, the warmest month, high temperatures average 84°F (29 °C) and low temperatures 63°F (17 °C). In January, the coldest month, high temperatures average 29°F (-2 °C) with low temperatures averaging 13°F (-10 °C).
The ideal time to visit the Windy City is summer or fall. The summer months offer an endless selection of special events and outdoor activities, as well as the biggest crowds and hot, muggy weather. However, autumn days are generally sunny and the crowds are smaller at major tourist attractions.
Value season: If you're looking for the cheapest hotel rates and don't mind being indoors, travel to Chicago between December and March. Another added bonus: you won't have to wait to get into museums and other city attractions.
The Odeum Expo Center
McCormick Place an SMG Managed Facility
With nearly three million visitors each year, McCormick Place is North America's premier convention facility one of the most alluring Chicago meeting facilities. Named after Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the center first opened in 1960 at 320,000 square feet. Over the years, the center has been expanded and upgraded multiple times. In 2007, McCormick Place added the West Building, which boasts 460,000 square feet of exhibit space, 250,000 square feet of meeting space and one of the world's largest ballrooms.
Today, McCormick Place is the largest convention center in the United States and encompasses four buildings in addition to the West Building: North Building, South Building, and Lakeside Center. Overall, the center covers an astounding 2.6 million square feet of exhibit halls. It boasts 173 meeting rooms offering 600,000 square feet of space; four ballrooms, two of which are the largest in the city; the 4,249-seat Arie Crown Theater; three additional 300-seat theaters; and assembly seating for 18,000 people.
Its amenities are equally impressive. The on-site business center offers copying, printing and document finishing services, computer rentals, shipping options and more. Internet and networking services are available, as is Wi-Fi in facility restaurants. Chicago Restaurant Partners offers award-winning catering programs for groups of all kinds.
Hungry attendees can also stop by one of several food outlets, which range from fast food to full service. Guests needing a break from a long day of meetings can take advantage of the Relaxation Stations, which offer upper-body massage services. Additional amenities include ATM machines, complimentary coat checks, shoe shine services and a 24-hour convenience center.
McCormick Place is connected to 1,259 luxurious rooms at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Only minutes from downtown, the center also manages two parking lots, offering space for a total of 5,000 vehicles; it can also be reached by public transportation. To travel within the center itself, sky bridges and public walkways serve as links among
facilities. The Grand Concourse runs between the South Building and North and Lakeside buildings, and is home to a number of restaurants and retail shops.
In addition to expansive facilities and first-class amenities, McCormick Place offers planners a chance to make their events sustainable. Committed to doing its part to protect the environment, the center has undertaken many green initiatives including the use of compact florescent bulbs, biodegradable flatware and serving ware in the food courts, and 100 percent recycled paper products in facility restrooms. The center's West Building also attained LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the largest new construction facility in the nation to do so.
Recognized as one of the top convention centers in the business, McCormick Place regularly takes home awards. In 2010, the center won MeetingsNet 2010 Association Meetings Inner Circle Award, and in 2009, the Trade Show Exhibitors Association award for Favorite Convention Center.
Gleacher Center
Located in the heart of Chicago's business community, the Gleacher Center is an ideal Chicago meeting facility situated blocks away from Magnificent Mile shopping, restaurants and hotels and easily accessible by public transportation. Amphitheaters, executive meeting rooms, reception and dining lounges, and flexible breakout rooms are among the spaces available. The fifth-floor Midway Club combines comfort and elegance with its well-appointed rooms, lounge and billiard room, and dining area.
Catering at the Gleacher Center is provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering, which can craft menus for breakfasts, snack breaks, lunch buffets, seated dinners and more. State-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, full videoconferencing and a wide range of business services are also available.
The Conference Center One North Wacker
From small corporate functions to large receptions, the Conference Center at UBS Tower's scalable space is suited to accommodate events of all kinds. The center has 6,251 square feet of meeting space spread among six separate meeting rooms. Two separate rooms can be combined into the 3,329-square-foot Michigan Ballroom, which can host receptions of up to 325 guests.
Each room in the facility is equipped with high-speed Internet LAN connections, and the center offers trained professionals for audio-visual support. It also has four exclusive caterers and an on-site, fully-equipped copy center.
Summit Chicago (A Women's Business Enterprise - WBE)
Chicago's only IACC-approved conference center, the Summit Executive Center is located in the heart of downtown Chicago on the northeast corner of Michigan Avenue and Lake Street. The facility's 20 meeting rooms encompass 34,000 square feet of flexible space and are equipped with ergonomic chairs, custom-designed tables and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. The Summit Executive Centre also offers catering services and an on-site business center.
Navy Pier Chicago an SMG Managed Facility
Boasting "Latino flavors with the spice of life," Carnivale celebrates Latin culture and community. Its authentic cuisine blends the dishes of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Argentina, El Salvador and Mexico. Bright colors, salsa music and vibrant decor impart the feeling of being at a Latin house party.
Catalyst Ranch
Located in a historic downtown Chicago loft space, Catalyst Ranch's creative environment is guaranteed to impress and inspire. Its five large meeting rooms are filled with vintage furniture, ethnic artwork, toys, delicious food, as well as business amenities such as audio-visual equipment, wireless Internet and meeting supplies.
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
The 1,198-room Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile offers a stunningly stylish, energetic and contemporary vibe. Here, business and entertainment intersect in a multidimensional setting that inspires guests to engage, relax, retreat, work and play.
A premier destination for Chicago-based meetings, the hotel's recently updated 54 meeting rooms encompass 66,400 total square feet of meeting space. The largest room is the 19,193-square-foot grand ballroom, capable of accommodating 2,200 guests.
United Center
The United Center in Chicago, the largest arena in the country, has hosted over 20 million guests since its opening in 1994. In addition to serving as the home of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls, it hosts over 200 events per year, including well-known headliners such as Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney.
A privately-owned multi-use facility, the United Center's commitment to quality and service makes it one of the top venues in the world. A range of banquet rooms, meeting rooms and even the arena floor can be booked for events of all types and sizes.
Chicago Union Station
Designed by famed architect Daniel Burnham and completed in 1925, the Great Hall at Chicago Union Station is considered one of the greatest indoor meeting facilities in Chicago and in the entire United States. The Beaux Arts-style room, which features 18 Corinthian columns, terra cotta walls, a pink Tennessee marble floor, and a barrel-vaulted ceiling, has been the location for films including The Untouchables and My Best Friend's Wedding.
Hard Rock Cafe - Chicago
Located in the heart of the River North neighborhood, the Hard Rock Cafe Chicago has continued to live up to its motto of "Love All, Serve All" for over 20 years. Whether enjoying a meal of hickory-smoked pulled pork or sipping drinks such as the Rockarita, the Hard Rock Cafe has something to suit every taste.
Hilton Chicago
The Hilton Chicago hotel has achieved an unprecedented fusion of historic luxury and contemporary amenities. Stepping into its magnificent lobby, guests are immediately transported back to the early 20th century, when great hotels were built with marble and granite, not glass and steel. The hotel's location on Michigan Avenue makes virtually everything to see and do in Chicago is only a short walk or cab ride away.
Hyatt Regency Chicago
Located just off the Magnificent Mile, the Four Diamond Hyatt Regency Chicago luxury hotel lets guests take advantage of all the city has to offer, while indulging in the kind of pampered service expected from Hyatt. Perfect for hosting anything from a simple one-day meeting or an elaborate weeklong conference, the hotel's 228,000 square feet of creative, flexible function space and professional staff can meet any need.
Palmer House a Hilton Hotel
Ideally located in the heart of the Chicago Loop, the Palmer House Hilton is a unique Chicago hotel offering modern conveniences combined with over one hundred years of elegance. The hotel's Executive Level is virtually a "hotel within a hotel" with a long list of special amenities suited for business groups. This self-contained conference floor includes 38 function rooms that can satisfy any business need.
Paramount Room
Paramount Room serves modern food and drink from its location in a 100-year-old former speakeasy in River West. With its contemporary design, noted by exposed brick, lofted ceilings and cozy booths, Paramount Room sets the tone for a relaxing night to kick back with drinks from the full bar and selections from the award-winning menu.
Sheraton Grand Chicago
Located on the banks of the Chicago River, the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers is the premier convention and business hotel in the Midwest. Designed to create a successful meeting environment, the property boasts a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, the largest hotel ballroom in the Midwest, as well as meeting rooms equipped with the latest in audio-visual technology, making it one of the most sought after Chicago meeting facilities. All guest rooms offer views of the river, Lake Michigan or the city skyline, and special Club rooms have exclusive benefits and amenities.
The Mid-America Club
The Mid-America Club is the only club in Chicago that provides a 360-degree panoramic view of the city's distinctive skyline. Whether for a business seminar or an elaborate special event, The Mid-America Club can assist planners with every detail.
The Palm - Chicago
Located in the posh Swissotel, The Palm Chicago opened its doors in 1980 to much success. Known for its great steaks and seafood and authentic Italian dishes, The Palm has long been a favorite to Chicagoans, including members of the Chicago Bulls and Bears and several local politicos.
Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW)
Approximate taxi fare: $42 USD
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
Approximate taxi fare: $53 USD
The 2nd-busiest airport in the U.S., O'Hare International is the largest hub for United Airlines and the 2nd largest hub for American Airlines. As the primary airport for the Chicago area, O'Hare International sees more than 66 million passengers a year, making it the fourth busiest airport in the world.
The Chicago Airport System's Art and Exhibits Program brings color and spirit to the airport decor. Spread among its two airports, the system's collection features permanent works in the Edward "Butch" O'Hare Museum and The Battle of Midway Exhibit. Other exhibit pieces at O'Hare have included a Brachiosaurus skeleton from the Field Museum and 744-foot-long kinetic neon sculpture lining the ceiling of the underground walkway between Concourses B and C.
Travelers at O'Hare can enjoy a number of dining and shopping options, many of which offer a chance to enjoy some Chicago treats upon arrival or as a last stop before departure. Chicago Style Hot Dogs, Gold Coast Dogs and Pizzeria Uno join other fast food and full-service eateries. Chicago News and Gifts provides souvenirs alongside other shops such as Mont Blanc, Sunglass Hut and Brookstone. Wi-Fi capability and a number of power stations where guests can recharge electronic devices for free are available.
Hourly, daily and economy parking is available at O'Hare International. A special lot for international parking is also available.
Airline carriers serving O'Hare International Airport
Chicago is one of largest passenger rail hubs in the United States. Traveling in and out of downtown Union Station, travelers can reach major cities all across the continental United States.
Chicago Union Station serves numerous Amtrak routes: California Zephyr (Chicago to Emeryville, California); Capitol Limited (Chicago to Washington, DC); Cardinal/Hoosier State (New York City to Chicago); City of New Orleans (Chicago to New Orleans); Empire Builder (Chicago to Portland/Seattle); Hiawatha (Chicago to Milwaukee); Illinois Service (Chicago to Quincy, Missouri, St. Louis, and Carbondale, Illinois); Lake Shore Limited (New York City and Boston to Chicago); Michigan Services (Chicago to Grand Rapids, Pontiac and Detroit); Missouri Routes (Chicago to Kansas City); Southwest Chief (Chicago to Los Angeles); and Texas Eagle (Chicago to San Antonio).
Chicago Union Station is open daily from 5:30 AM to midnight.
The Regional Transit Authority oversees the three public transportation operators in Chicago and northeastern Illinois: the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra commuter rail and Pace bus.
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
The CTA operates a bus system and a rapid transit system, known as the "L," in Chicago. The L Train runs on eight routes, designated as Yellow, Red, Brown, Blue, Green, Pink, Purple and Orange. The Blue line has a stop at the O'Hare International Airport, while the Orange line stops at Midway International. Chicago is one of few cities with 24-hour transport service, as the Red and Blue lines both run all day.
The CTA buses run throughout urban areas at over 12,000 stops. Regular and express routes are available, and designated "Owl" buses provide service from midnight to 5 AM.
The Chicago Card and Chicago Card Plus offer reduced fares for travelers. Full fare with either card is $1.75 and 25 cents for transfers, which allow for two additional rides within two hours after the first boarding. Transit Card fare is $1.75 on buses, $2 at rail stations and 25 cents for transfers. Cash fares are $2 per ride, exact fare only.
Visitors' passes are available, offering unlimited rides when activated at first use. Two-day passes are $9, three-day passes are $12 and five-day passes are $18.
Metra runs commuter rail lines in Chicago and its suburbs. Its over 200 stations are spread through six counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will. The trains travel as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin, and as far east as South Bend, Indiana.
Metra fares are calculated based on distance traveled within its designated zone system. Tickets can be purchased at Metra station ticket booths.
The Pace bus systems offers bus and paratransit service to over 200 suburbs surrounding Chicago, with some stops in the city as well.
Regular full fare for Pace is $1.50, but fares vary based on type of route; transfers are 25 cents. Children under 7 ride free. Pace buses also accept CTA farecards.
A great, affordable way to see the city, Chicago's Free Trolleys run to popular attractions and shopping districts. Guest can reach the Museum Campus, Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier and more on the trolleys; all the routes also connect to a CTA or Metra station.
Trolleys pick up and drop off only at designated stops. Trolleys run about every 20 minutes at varying schedules based on day and season.
When the temperatures drop in the Windy City, guests can still enjoy easy, fast and, most importantly, warm transportation. The extensive downtown underground Pedway spans 40 blocks of the central business district, connecting businesses, retail stores, hotels and other public transportation stations.
Truly an underground city, the Pedway has numerous shops, restaurants and public art displays. It is open 24 hours a day, though access to buildings within the system is generally based on standard business hours.
Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz and National operate at O'Hare International. Agency counters are located at the lower level near the baggage claim of each terminal. All these companies as well as Thrifty serve Midway Airport. Counters are located on the lower level of the terminal.
Taxis are plentiful on the streets of Chicago; in fact, the city has the 2nd largest fleet in the nation with 6,900 vehicles. Fares start at $2.25 for the first 1/9-mile. Each additional 1/9-mile is 20 cents. The first additional passenger is $1. Each additional passenger after the first is 50 cents.
Taxi fare from O'Hare International Airport to downtown averages $35 to $40. Taxi fare from Midway to downtown is about $25 to $28.
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Posted by Alisa on Saturday, August 23, 2014
Reality Television star Kim Kardashian took her adorable 4-year-old nephew Mason to Barnes and Noble in Los Angeles, CA on Tuesday (August 19).
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After talking about the things I will and won't miss about China, it comes to the things I'm looking forward to when I get home.
Strange as this will sound to those who know, I really want a hash-brown. Funny because I don't like Potato but still. I had a craving once before for Potato when I had been hunting for four days and hadn't eaten a lot. All I wanted was a big plate of mashed Potato. It didn't take me long to remember I didn't like it but again I still wanted it. I wonder why I crave the very food I don't like? hmmm maybe I'll ponder this more. I'm off topic though.
Coffee, oh sweet sweet coffee! I haven't had a good espresso coffee in over three weeks. New Zealand really is the land of good coffee. I've heard people say that before but now I realise just what I've been missing. I paid $50 RMB ($15 NZD) for black coffee from one of those push button machines you have in the staff room or at the petrol station - it was black because my acting skills let me down and they didn't understand I wanted a white coffee hahaha)
My own bed! although I still won't get to sleep in it for a week as I'm away again as soon as I'm home. I leave on another flight three hours after I land back in NZ. The beds in China are as hard as rock. I like a good firm bed but not a wooden plank like many of the hotel beds seem to be.
I'm looking forward to seeing Katherine. It's rather tough trying to keep in touch when the internet is so flakey over here. The time difference doesn't make it super easy either. I've had no end of trouble trying to keep in touch with my beautiful girl and I'll finally get to see her again after about 6 weeks I think?
Spitting - Ahhh yes that sound that both Chinese Men and Women make when they have something stuck in their throat, the hock it up with a roar, then spit it out anywhere they want - the street, the lino, a tissue, the air sick bag, or even their hand if they have to. The Chinese spit a lot - inside and out, in quiet places and loudly at 3am. It's flat out gross and makes we want to throw up every time.
Being stared at - This is possibly more a fatigue thing. For the first couple of weeks it was funny being starred at and followed around. When buying stuff people would crowd around to see what sort of thing the white man was buying. They would blatantly come and stand in the circle of us four to listen to us speak English. Now I'm just sick of standing out. I can't wait to melt back into the crowd where no one cares I'm there. Strange thing to say but you really have to go through it before you understand I think. I don't think I could ever be a celebrity. Being followed everyday would drive me up the wall.
Sea food as snacks on the plane - Yes on many Chinese flights they gave out dried seafood as in-flight snacks. The plane instantly smelt like a fish tank. Add that to a little turbulence and it's a bad combination I'm sure. Thank fully we didn't have this, well not turbulence like we get in NZ anyway.
Pushing - This is something that annoys me in NZ as well. I hate people that won't wait their turn. On the planes and any lines in China, people will blatantly push you out the way just to get one place closer. John tells me its the culture because if you are late in China, there are just so many people that there is nothing that can be done. So the Chinese are always wanting to make sure they are as close to the front as possible. Getting off planes seems to be the worst. When the plane 'comes to a complete stop' there are people that get up and RUN down the isle to get out first. They don't need to get out first, they just want to. They will actively push you shamelessly out of the way. I don't tend to let it happen.
Hawkers - tourists get this in every country I know, even in NZ. I will still be happy to get away from it. I'm sick of being asked if I want a watch or DVD. I'm tired of people looking at me and thinking they can pull a fast one and rip me off. and I'm sick of being ripped off.
The language barrier - This is my fault and I know it. I went to a country and couldn't speak the language. I knew it before I went so I'm not complaining in anyway. But I am looking forward to ordering a coffee with milk and actually getting that first time around. You may not realise just how much of an effort it is to order a white coffee when you can't speak the language. How the heck do you demonstrate what a coffee is? then how do you demonstrate what milk is, and that you want it in your coffee? The language barrier is great fun and makes for many adventures but is the most stressful and tiring thing about overseas travel. I'm looking forward to communicating with words once again.
I thought I was looking forward to being around English speakers again but I'm not so sure now that I've made it to Hong Kong and into an English speaking hotel.
After three weeks of being one of only three other english speakers I guess I've become so used to being the only ones that speak English. It's so strange to see and hear other Westerners, I'm not sure I like it. I actually want to go back into the middle of China where I can't hear of see them. I don't know why.
We arrived in Hong Kong and the taxi dropped us off at the Novotel. As I walked up the stairs to the reception, I could hear the sound of American accents and I understood what they were saying. Odd because I haven't understood another persons conversation in about 3 weeks. The American accents weren't the problem, it was that I understood them, that was the strange part.
It's a bit of a let down; More than I thought it would be. Actually I didn't think I would be disappointed about hearing English again. In fact I wrote a blog about how much I'm looking forward to hearing English again but now that I'm hearing it, I'm not so sure.
Three weeks in China was about the right length of time I think. It's been long enough that I've seen a heap. It's also been long enough that I'm ready to come home and get back into it all. Generally I don't like long trips away and this is on the longer end of how long I like to be away. Anyway on with the things I'll miss.
Gracious drivers - The Chinese almost never get road rage. They are so calm on the roads which is crazy because they have some really shocking drivers. People will do U-Turns in the middle of motorways. They just slow down and stop a whole lane of people while they turn around hahaha. While a heap of people might beep their horns, they never yell or hit the steering wheel etc. They never complain about drivers or point out the crazy idiots. They just let people get on with their driving and are very accommodating and gracious. I guess you have to be.
The fabulous faces - Chinese faces are fantastic, especially the old weathered ones. They have such interesting beautiful faces. The young faces that spread light and hope around. They look at you like the world isn't the way it looks. They look at you like they see a different world, one that has hope and a future even if they aren't sure how to grab it yet. And the old faces that have seen life in all its colour. The ones that have known some serious hard times, and probably a few great times as well. These faces have grasped the idea that in the end it all goes back in the box and you should enjoy as much of it as possible. They are the ones carrying the children and visiting places they have been a thousand times just to show the younger ones and share their knowledge.
The food - as much as I miss my NZ style food, the Chinese cooking is very unique. They eat veggies all day round (you would be proud of them Penny SJ). I'm not sure I really buy into eating green beens for breakfast. The bakery food over here is the best though. They do make fantastic bread in China.
School kids looking and laughing at the white guys - while I'm sick of adults starring at me, little school kids are different - I don't know why. They are just so innocent and stare at me like I'm the strangest and coolest thing they've ever seen - maybe I am! The giggle and follow along behind talking to themselves. It's cute and funny.
How cheap things can be - there are knock-offs of everything and that makes for some good cheap buying. I did love that. Who knows how long it will all last but it was great fun getting a deal all the same. Jeans for $20 NZD, work shirts for $7 NZD, dress pants for $17 NZD - can't complain at that huh?
Zhengzhou is the last major city I'm visiting on this trip. It's a large industrial city of about 6 million people. It the least touristy of all the places and as a result people are even more intrigued by the white guys in the city.
We were standing outside our hotel on Wednesday and three 8 year olds came past. They were chatting away to each other and took a double take at the three white guys standing in their neighborhood. John tells us that they were arguing about who was going to say hello to us. In the end they didn't. Many school aged kids can speak English well.
One of the things I've noticed about this city in particular is how little effort goes into making it look pretty. I guess the lack of tourists means they don't care about it looking right as much. The powerlines outside our hotel at the most interesting. Check these out
I've discovered that doing your washing is either really hard or expensive. China doesn't have Laundromats like they do in many western countries. The type where you take everything down and sit there with a magazine while it washes and dries everything for you. They do have lots of dry cleaners but they are just as expensive as New Zealand. So it's not really an option to use a laundromat. The other option is to use the hotel laundry service. This is slow and expensive. It can take between 12 and 48 hours to get your clothes back but they will be super clean and ironed.
John tired to help us out when we got to his city and he arranged for us to do washing at his friends place. It was great but then we have to dry it all. and the problem here is that nothing dries very fast.
I didn't go any washing in anticipation of free cleaning in John's home city of Zhengzhou. I used up a lot of clothes holding out on doing my washing. Now I've done my washing but I can't get it dry so I'm running around in a cold city in shorts and a singlet hahaha. The Chinese thought we were interesting in the first place but now they just think I'm crazy! here is this strange white human in shorts and singlet?!!? I'm a little mad that I can't get my washing done but what can ya do?
Obviously I have had to do washing in the nearly three weeks I've been here. I must have spent over $100 NZD getting my washing done. Each piece of clothing costs to get it washed. The lads are figuring it's cheaper to buy new socks and undies than to wash them. They are nearly right. To wash a pair of socks is $10 RMB ($3 NZD) and to buy them is two for $12 RMB ($3.20 NZD). Undies to wash are $15 RMB ($5 NZD) and cost about $20 RMB ($6.5 NZD) to buy. Pants and shirts are a different story and better to get washed but not by much.
So the we have been buying lots of socks and undies. However, we have found that Chinese clothing sizes are not the same as NZ - obvious in hindsight. I bought some size L boxers. When I put them on the leg hole got stuck going around my calf, my thigh was nearly impossible, and I'll leave the rest to your imagination.
The next time I bought XL boxers and they fit a little better. I'm thinking that I'll have to try some XXL or even XXXL to get the same as a NZ Large hahaha.
Buying shoes is a similar problem. Everyone wants to sell us shoes. I've been tempted with a few and asked to try them on. When I tell them that I wear size 10 they laugh and shake their heads as they often don't have shoes that large. Most places will stock up to size 8.
For a few days we all split up and went to different cities. Sam went back to Beijing, John went to Zhengzhou, Sinclair and I went to Guilin. I hadn't really appreciated how hard it would be to communicate without John. I knew it wouldn't be easy and I got John to write down the names of all key things like hotels and flight details etc in Chinese and English. When it actually came time to communicate it all got very hard. Trying to pay bond, trying to check out, trying to get an old blind taxi driver to read a laptop screen to find a hotel, trying to communicate McDonalds to people etc. It suddenly gets very interesting. We danced, mimed, drawn pictures, pointed, gestured all to try and communicate our needs. It was slightly embarrassing at first because they all stare at us anyway let alone when you are dancing in the middle of an airport trying to ask where the bathroom is - makes for some very funny times.
On checking out of the hotel in Guilin, we need to catch a taxi to the airport. I couldn't figure out how to communicate it so we drew the below picture. It worked a treat. Drawing pictures and acting out seems to do OK. Yay for the basic rules of communication.
On the 29th of March we spent the day up at the Rice Terraces. What a beautiful place. It's about 2 hours out of Guilin (The sister city of Haistings, NZ). We took a tourist bus at 8:30am out of town and headed on our way. We had a guide who was meant to speak English so us whities could understand. Unfortunately the guide didn't really enjoy speaking in English. He would talk about 15 mins in Chinese while every laughed and he pointed to stuff along the way, then would give us about six English sentences on the same topic. A bit frustrating when he was sold as an English speaking guide. Ahh well I am in China after all and it's only fair I guess.
The place where we visited has only recently been exposed to the outside world in many ways. The first road built into that part of the world was built in 2002 so it's very new. The average local income per person is $350 RMB = $90 NZD per year (or was until the tourists started to arrive). That's not a lot of cash and they do everything themselves as a result. They build their own homes, cultivate and grow their own food etc. It's beautiful and rugged place. Tourism has done a lot for the place but also changed it a lot as well.
One specific group of people we visited never cut their hair. They believe hair is the source of life and so the woman never cut their hair. On average the hair is between 1.5-1.8 meters long. they also never wash it so it stinks hahaha.
Since tourists have stared to visit the area, the younger girls have seen that many rich people don't have long hair and have decided to break with tradition and cut their hair because they no longer believe it holds the power of life. I'm not sure what I think about it all. On one hand it's good that they are getting exposure to the world and seeing new ideas and considering them. On the other hand they are bleeding their culture right out in one generation. There will be no long haired woman for the world to see in 20 years time.
The area has a road but it's like a nature reserve or something so we have to get off our bus and board shuttle busses. Our guide warned us about the road saying it's skinny and sometimes people scream while traveling on it. I was keen and a little worried at the same time. Having seen how people drive around China I can be sure they scream for a good reason. The average driving in China would make any NZer scared, so if this road is making the locals scared, them I'm worried hahaha. I was a little let down that only one girl screamed on the way up, and a couple put on their belts (which the Chinese never do). I was hoping for a little more excitement but never mind.
The village below the terraces was great. They have a speciality food which is cooked in bamboo. You can get bamboo rice, bamboo chicken, or bamboo mouse. The later was interesting. We saw a few of the nice cook and for sale on the way to a restaurant on the walk up and they are large mice. I'd say they were more like decent sided rats and that was after they were cooked. I suspect they are very large haha. I wasn't brave enough to eat the bamboo mouse so I just had bamboo rice. It was stunning. I'm totally going to try and cook this when I get home. They just use green bamboo and cook it in an open fire.
After lunch we headed up the to the terraces. Here are a few pics in order of how I took them. Check out my flickr for all the photos.
The Panda base was ok - not stunning but good. There wasn't a huge number of Pandas to see - prob about 20 and it took us two hours to find them all. We had a laugh trying to get home from the Panda Base as we had left out room key with Chinese address with another friend. So we had no way of communicating where the hotel was or anything. In the end I went to the tour guides at the Panda Base and got them to help us out. I ended up getting us a jolly good deal and got a private car for cheaper than a Taxi would have cost! wohoo. I'm not to bad at this battering thing.
This is the thinking panda pose
This dozing lad is risking a rude awakening I think
Can someone tell me what the Pandas below are up to? I can't translate the text ;-)
All the photos you need to see are being uploaded to Flickr. I've just added a heap. Check it out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/haydsofnz/
This will probably be one of the most damaging posts so far this trip as I'm about to confess to watching chick flicks.
It's the end of the second day in Guilin, which is the sister city of Haistings, NZ. We've had a busy couple of days and thought it was time to just chill in the hotel for a night and maybe watch a DVD. So that's exactly what we did.
Tonight we got home from a day of tripping around, grabbed some beers, some dodgy food from a stall on the side of the road, and sat down to watch "P.S I love you". Sinclair and I sat there on our hotel beds in the middle of China, drinking a $1 NZD 630 ml beer (which is actually really good), watching a chick flick. An interesting way to spend the night I guess.
And the thing is - I like the movie. This won't be news to some as you will already know what my favorite movie is, but I think this one could give my favorite movie a run for it's money.
Bit of a different evening for us but good all the same.
I've left Chengdu now so I should be ok to post this. Please be considerate if you comment on this or other posts. Everything is monitored in China.
So we were meant to come from Xi'an and stay in Chengdu over night then head up to a place called 'the valley of nine'. It's meant to be a beautiful national park. Everything we've read raves about it. It was going to be a highlight of the trip for me but it didn't work out.
Something interesting happened politically in and near China. Evidentially the govt got a little upset and banned all tourists of a certain ethnic group from visiting the valley so three of us couldn't go up there. So we were left in Chengdu for four days.
Evidently Chengdu is near a certain border and group of people which might have caused a bit of a stir around the time of the Olympics. The hotel we were staying at was in a key part of the city which might have had a lot of underground activity so we moved. It's an interesting place at the moment.
In China there are 24hour McDonalds all over the place. They are always open (hence the 24hour part) so when the 24hour McD's is closing each night at 10pm you have to wonder. It's an interesting place at the moment.
There was a HUGE presence of official support people in the city.
Apart from the interesting time we had, Chengdu is a beautiful and friendly city. I would love to visit here again when its not so interesting. Cheap everything here. Bartering is harder here than any other city though.
A colleague of mine flicked this through to me wondering how the four young Kiwi blokes are getting on hahaha. Not proposals yet but now that we know we are desirable, we might walk a little different.
Poststed from the NZ Hearld
New Zealand men have become the third most sought-after foreign husbands by Chinese women, a survey found.
nationwide survey by the Chinese matchmaking agency hongniang.com shows
that Chinese women considering foreign husbands now prefer men in
countries which are not the wealthiest, but are less likely to be hit
by the financial crisis.
The free-spending culture in rich
societies like the United States is a cause for concern in these
troubled times, and the respondents said they found New Zealand men to
be less extravagant.
But the overall perception that foreign
husbands are irresponsible in money management has also made them less
attractive to women looking for security and stability.
Of the
4377 Chinese women polled between December and last month, only 16.8
per cent said "yes" to the idea of marrying a foreigner - a big fall
from the 42.5 per cent of 6594 willing to marry foreign men in a
similar survey done last September.
New Zealand, which didn't make the top eight last year, came third - behind Canada and top-of-the-chart Australia.
The United States fell from second before the crisis to fifth, and Japan, which was once fifth, fell off the list altogether.
total of 68 per cent of the respondents indicated a preference for a
local Chinese husband compared with 58 per cent in the previous survey.
The English-language China Daily said the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers last September was the cause for this change of heart.
shows that with the impact of the financial crisis, women are more
prudent in choosing a foreign partner, and the spending culture in
Western countries worries them," said Fang Fang, a Hongniang agency spokesman.
a Chinese woman, a solid bank account promises real security, not an
array of credit cards and easy loans - a belief shared too by most
Chinese men," Ms Fang said in a CN Radio interview.
She said
Chinese women also felt foreign husbands lacked family attachment,
which they believed to be one of the main reasons for marriages failing.
Most popular foreign husbands among Chinese women:
1 Australia
2 Canada
3 New Zealand
4 Singapore
5 United States
6 South Korea
7 France
8 Netherlands
I'm here in China at the moment and I've been thinking a lot about leadership and what it takes to be a revolutionary leader. Chairman Mao may not be a very like man in most parts of the world, including China but her certainly had a way with people and achieved an amazing thing in unifying China.
I've been thinking about what it takes to unify 30 million people. It's obviously not something you can do by yourself. From the outset Mao had a big vision and dream - to see the imperialist-capatlist powers and system over-throughen. While the People's Revolution may have started with only a small number of people, they didn't intend to stay that way.
Right from the word go Mao and his cohorts must have been thinking about structure and process. What would be required if they were to work with 30 million people? who would they need and how would they train them? where would they get the resources and how would they deploy them? where would the first frontline be and where would the safe place for new trainees be?
This wasn't one man thinking he could do everything.
I find that, as a generalisation, often in Church life, leaders try and do everything themselves. They behave like they are the only ones who can do the job. Or maybe it's that they are to scared to give the job away? They are reluctant to give the job to someone else and really REALLY let them run with it.
I know this isn't an easy issue to tackle and I'm not actually trying to answer it or offer any wise insight. It's just something I'm noticing in leadership.
It seems to me that revolutionary leaders have a very clear idea of who the enemy is and they are passionate about destroying that enemy. They seem happy to give people training and support and freedom to be revolutionary however they want as long as they are attacking the same enemy.
Giant statue of Chairman Mao at the Beijing Military museum
The Great Wall of China was...well...great! actually is was jolly fantastic. We had a mission trying to get out to the bus to even get out there. The hawkers and hustlers did a brilliant number on us. When we were walking over towards the bus stop, someone in a vaguely official looking uniform asked if we were going to the Great Wall, we said yes, he told us the bus leaves from here and they are just waiting on a few more people and then the bus will roll up and get us. The truth was that the bus didn't come past that way and they just wanted us to wait and wait until we were so feed up of waiting for the bus we would use their personal cars at really high rates. We figured out the plan sooner than they liked and we left. They followed us and started really hassling John. We got out our cameras and they all fled really fast. Evidently these ones don't like having their picture taken hahaha.
So an hour bus trip and we arrived at the Great Wall. It's not as big as I imagined it to be but then it's still HUGE. It's as tall as I expected but not as wide. Here are a few shots
Lots more photos from the whole day and all other days on my flickr - check it out
The Forbidden City is where the Emperors of China lived from about 1400 - 1911. It's a beautiful place full of strict tradition and myths. It's a wonderful testimony to history and culture. The things that happened in this place were so well tuned and planned it amazed me. I could never be an ancient Emperor because everything was so well controlled and ordered. I would just go crazy.
Last night was the second business meeting I'm here for. When I say meeting I mean dinner. We went to a fantastic vegetarian restaurant which was right down the back of some alleyway. We meet one of the men from the company on the street and were lead down a side ally which was dark and a little foreboding to start with. Spread out all the way down this ally were staff/waiters/assistants/something who welcomed us and guided us to the restaurant. It was a good idea because it was a long way down the back and round a few corners.
The restaurant was fantastic. It looked like a giant circus tent when we first saw it. There was material hanging over the front of the building. One of the staff/waiters/assistants/something people pulled back the curtain and let us in. Inside was a spectacular arrangement of private booths and dining tables. Some large for 50+ people, others small for a romantic dinner. We had a room around the corner and down the bend and up the little ramp.
I was introduced to two other men from the same company. John worked as the translator all night and pasted as much as he could back and forth between Sinclair and I to the three Chinese men. I would tell you there names but I can't pronounce them let alone spell them. They were all great and interesting people to meet.
Much of the conversation during dinner was about the food and if the Kiwis could handle the spice and variety presented. Everything was vegetarian but had names like Peking Duck because it tasted just like it.
When it came time to talk business it got interesting because I'm very used to reading body language. Who knows if I'm any good at that but I do all the same. Having to get an interpreter is hard because I don't know how people are reacting to the way I phrase things and I don't know how it's being phrased to them. There were several times when John would say "I don't think I'm saying this right". that is a freaky thought when trying to build business relationships because I want to know that ideas have been communicated correctly. It's hard to know if I'm understanding their ideas and if they are understanding mine.
The meeting went very well and I believe we have a strong relationship to work with from here. Time will tell but we have started in the right direction.
Blue man also appeared inside the theme park. Kind of strange that he's here but oh well. Check him out
I had a hustler hit me up in the street in Shanghai today. He was a young guy, about 15 he said and I tend to believe him. Pimply and tall, dressed in clean clothes, he didn't look like he lived on the streets. I was standing on the side walk watching one of our group move around when this young guy introduced himself. He spoke in good strong English, not perfect like he had lived in an English speaking country, but good enough that he clearly spoke it often. He spoke about how much he liked people with white skin - odd but whatever floats your boat I guess. He asked where I was from and he knew a bit about Australia - the same place as NZ to him. After a while he told me he had run away from home and was living on the street, he hadn't eaten in a long time and was sooooo hungry. His lines sounded very prepared and practiced. In the end our party moved off and I left him without buying him any food.
I got thinking about the experience later that night. At the time I had just passed him off as another hustler trying to get something from me and I believe he was just hustling me. But it was the fact that he asked for food that got to me. Why would a hustler ask for food? Maybe this is what he did and each person he would ask for something different. Food from this person, shoes from that one, a sweatshirt from another. I started to wonder about how Jesus and the disciples handled these situations. Here are a couple of references I read over.
"Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." - Acts 3:6
"But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God" - Luke 5:22-25
I don't want to play into the hands of hustlers like a fool, and I don't want to perpetuate a cycle of being a professional beggar. I do want to meet the needs or people. I may not have a lot of money but certainly more than these people. But what is it that they really need? It seems to me that Jesus and the disciples knew these same professional beggars needed something more than just money. They knew these people needed healing both spiritually and physically. Many people in the world will be able to meet the money and clothing need for people but they can't meet the needs that only Jesus can. I take that same Jesus with me everywhere I go. So many next time I come acorss a hustler I should follow the lead and give them the very thing that is unique which I can offer. healing through Jesus.
It appears to me that no one else ever offers that. Well they don't seem to anyway. Good people give money and it's helpful. I want to be the sort of person that offers real answers that make a difference. I know Jesus made a difference in me, so I'm going to try and be brave enough and have faith that I can pass that on.
Last night we had a flight booked from Shanghai to Beijing. All the details for our trip a written down in Chinese and we have our flight numbers all sorted. We thought we were rather well prepared for Europeans in China but we didn't count on the taxi drivers.
It comes time to leave for the airport. We need to be there an hour before and it's going to take about an hour to get there. Our flight is 8:50 so we pick up our bags and leave town. Jumping in a taxi we show the driver where we need to head on our little chart, he nods like he understands and we are on our way. Getting to the airport is smooth and we have heaps of time. I check in first and fumble my way through explaining where I need to go. The lovely checkin lady looks at her screen, smiles, hands back my passport and says "wrong airport - next please" and then follows a very difficult conversation trying to figure out why this isn't the right airport and what the heck we are meant to do about it.
We figure out that we have been taken to the wrong airport by the taxi driver and we need to be 40km across town at the other airport. What follows is a fantastic and crazy taxi ride at full speed across town to get to the other airport. The taxi driver actually jumped out at one stage and changed number plates, I assume so he wouldn't get speeding tickets. There was some serious ducking and weaving happening on that taxi ride but alas we didn't make it in time. So now our flight has left, we have no where to stay, and we are stuck in Beijing.
Oh the joys of traveling in a country that you can't speak the language.
None of us can really afford to buy new tickets but what other choice do we have? Sam and I have stayed in Shanghai the night and will catch a plane to Beijing at lunchtime. John and Sinclair will catch a 9 hour train. I would have liked to catch the train but I'm tired and frustrated and just want to sleep so I'll catch the train another day when I'm more prepared.
Sam and I made it to the right airport and after a few confusing moments trying to figure out if Air China is the same as China Air we made it through security and onto the plane. The Air China ticket people told us China Air was a different company. Actually they are the same company and we booked in with them. Never mind. Language is a fun barrier at times.
So all is well really; just a fun little hick-up along the way. I'll post some photos and video of the night soon.
Let it be known that I love coffee. In fact I love fluid. If I could drink all the nutrients I needed to survive, I would. I haven't had a coffee in five days - on no actually I lie. I had a coffee when we went looking at the huge phone market. San needed to use the bathroom and didn't want to use a squat toilet so we had to find a western cafe and buy something. I had a rather good, strong, and bitter coffee but that's the only one I've had.
The Pearl of Shanghai is an amazing tall tower similar to the Sky tower in Auckland, NZ. It is meant to symbolize everything great and wonderful about China.
It's a cool tower to look at but not amazing to visit. The view was awesome. The queue lines were huge for this place. They really really are long. Longer than any other I've seen at places like airports, Disneyland, Customs or anything. The lines go all the way round the base of this tower. The video might give you a idea of how big it was. Luckily we didn't go during peak time so we went straight up.
The view from the top was very cool. This video doesn't really do much justice but here it is all the same. For as far as you can see in any direction there are lights. Every horizon is sparkling and it goes a long way beyond what I can see.
We have visited a few large malls and markets now and in every place there are always hawkers and hustlers. The sort of people that are selling fake watches or trying to make a commission from the brining you to a certain store to buy. This gets old really fast. The best way to avoid them is not to make eye contact but it's not all that easy. In one mall we have 7 hustlers following and talking to us the whole time. It gets a little overwhelming at times. I can't just walk and look without one of them yelling at my to go inside and try something. They follow us from store to store. We have discovered a few innovative ways of getting rid of them but I won't share those here haha.
We have been keen to check out the night life while over here but it's really hard to find a bar we can successfully bar a drink from. The language barrier is hard enough at the best of times, let alone when you are yelling across a noisy bar.
We spent four hours looking for a bar. We tried three but they didn't work out for a few reasons. the fist bar was a super bar. The sort of place that can have 10,000 people in it. I've never seen one so big. Multiple floors and international DJ's they fly in every night of the week. The door charge was 100 RMB ($30 NZD) which was a bit much for me so we didn't go in. The second bar was an underground place. Very interesting. It was the only place in China I have seen graffiti. It was very dark and not really a friendly sort of place so we left. The third place was not what we thought. It looked like a nice clean bar but as soon as we got near the door we realised it was more of a gentlemen's club which also wasn't what we wanted. So after a long time driving around the city and with no luck we went home four hours later. I'd like to say it was fun all the same, but this time it wasn't.
China is fantastic. Shanghai is expensive but very interesting. There is a heap to do. We could have filled two weeks in this city but it's time to move on. Beijing is next and our next business meeting.
152 021 82032 - Sam's cell phone
124 6650 5925
In case you would like to follow some of the antics from my trip to China
Leftfield had it's first business meeting last night over dinner. We were taken to a beautiful restraunt where you picked the plates of food you want and they cook up that right amount for the number of people you have. One of the dishes ordered was dog. Now please note that this is China and this is what they eat in their culture. So there was dog on the table and I figured that I may never get a chance to try it again. Dog doesn't taste all that bad. In fact it's rather nice. It's hard to say what it tastes like. I thought it tasted like meat hahaha discriptive I know. It was cooked in a stew and was very tender. Maybe even too tender. So now I've tried dog, I have cat, rat, and horse to go. Sorry if eating those things really offends you.
Our hotel room in Shanghai is a lot bigger than in Hong Kong - I'm a very happy lad about that. The toilet and shower are made from opaque glass that you can mostly see through. Luckily the toilt and shower are seperated from the bedroom by another opaque frosted glass wall and a curtain. It's a nice room to stay in though and we have free internet. We started out in room 8333 and while checking out the room we found the cups hadn't been cleaned for a long time as there was half a mug of very old coffee with mold growing on top, so they moved us to room 8332 which was nice but the internet kept stopping working. Not usually a problem acept I have to work and need the internet to do so. They have moved us back to 8333. Yay for playing ping pong with our rooms. They are very kind about it all.
Sam and I have had a good time trying to be independant of John. We are trying our best to buy things and get around without needing John to interperat for us.
We checked out a couple of cool places today. A huge computer shopping market; this was five floors high and packed full of hundereds of small shops selling anything you can think of. This was totally focused on computers. It wasn't a general electronics market. The second market was a cell phone market that was six floors high. Now this place was awesome. Every phone and every state of legit and illigit products. Some were the real deal and cost a lot, others were second hand, some where stolen, and then there were the copies in all their different forms - high and low quality. I nearly bought an iPhone but couldn't get the guy to come down enough. Still they are cheaper than normal but I wanted one for about $400 NZD and couldn't seem to get them below $900 NZD. I had a great time bartering with everyone. I had some great deals going but didn't buy any in the end. I might do later on. It's only the start of our trip so I'm not in any rush.
[Edit - 18/03/09]
I've just slept for 12 hours straight. We got in to Hong Kong at about 6:30pm local time, made it to our hotel at 7:30pm. I lay down for a quick kip while John sorted his cell phone and I woke up the next day at 8pm. I was more tired than I thought. The last week before I left was a little exhausting.
This is the first full day of our trip. We headed out for breakfast and John found some local place which was full of people so we thought that was a safe bet. This place cracked me up. You don't get a table to yourself in this place. There are large round tables that seat about eight people and you are directed to just sit down at anyone with the strangers already there. Everyone was Chinese, which is to be expected, and they all took a good look at the hulking great white guy with blonde hair who squeezed into their morning world.
The food was great. I'm keen on trying as much new and different stuff as I can; however, I figured that playing it safe for my first meal might be a good idea. John ordered some local cuisine that I would probably have tried in NZ at some stage. Things like meatballs, shrimp dumplings, chicken and rice soup. It was very nice and I managed to eat everything with chopsticks – I was stoked. I really don't want to be a tourist if I can help it. I want to experience China the local way as much as possible. I hate the idea of going to a foreign country and making them bend to my western European way e.g. asking for a knife and fork because I can't use chopsticks. John is great. I'm very blessed to be travelling with a Chinese national.
Oh I haven't said already that I have no idea what the deal is with tipping people over here. The porter took our bags to our room last night and then hung around in the room for a moment and slowly headed towards the door. Neither John nor I had any idea if we should tip him or how much. We still aren't sure.
After the mornings adventures we headed over to meet up with Sam, one of the other three guys I'm travelling with. There will be Sam, Sinclair, John, and I on this trip for most of the time. Sam and Sinclair each arrive separately and leave separately. We meet up with Sinclair in Shanghai on 17 March.
Sam's hotel is tiny. I thought ours was bad but Sam's was amazing. Trying to find the door to his hotel was hard enough. I'm not sure this picture will give you a great idea but it's just a small door in the side of what looks like a closed shop. I was expecting a lobby with a porter etc but not this place
The great thing about Sam's hotel was free wireless Internet. I gave Mum and Dad a call from Skype. Mum wanted to know if I was safe – how cute of her. I wonder what she was going to do if I wasn't? Maybe she will comment if you reads this.
The plan for today is to travel to the border of Hong Kong province and cross over into main land China. We essentially travelled from one end of the line to the other but couldn't go on one train all the way; so we would travel six stops, get off, hope on the next train on the other side of the platform which was heading the same direction as the train we were on, and then travel another six stops and do it all again. The train ride was easy and uneventful. The only things I've round about China and now the train system is it has been designed for small people with small bags. My large suitcase doesn't fit through the turnstiles where you swipe to get into the train stations. If you've been to London or on a subway you will know what I'm talking about.
At the end of the train ride we end up at customs. John has to go through a seperate area for Chinese nationals who are just visiting China and this leaves Sam and I to get through by ourselves. Not an issue really apart from the fact that we can't read or speak Chinese and that makes it a little hard trying to figure out which one of the 70 aisles we should line up at. They are all colour coded so we just picked a colour and followed that all the way though. It was a good plan and worked well.
Once we got through customs and found John we were out into the big wide world of main land China. Immediately some guy comes up and starts talking to John and showing him a card, which I think, was a taxi drivers license. John obviously was not impressed as he flagged the guy away. The guy didn't leave and started to walk next to john and tapping him on the shoulder. I could tell John wasn't impressed and wasn't going to shake the guy very well. These guys are very pushy. I've encountered it before in Africa. They mean well and just don't leave you alone. I thought this was a good opportunity to use the skills God blessed me with – a loud voice and a direct spirit. So in a loud clear Hayden type voice I said 'go away' several people around us looked over and the guy hassling john looked a little shocked. He left very quickly hahahaha. John appreciated the help.
The next part isn't nearly as exciting. At this point we are in a border city called Shen Zhen. We jump into the airport bus, drive 45mins to the airport, get out and check into our flight for Shanghai.
We had a little time to kill before we had to board and we were all hungry. KFC was the closest place that looked safe. The funniest part was not being able to figure out how to order what we wanted. Obviously all the menus are in Chinese so I have no idea what I'm trying to order. I can't even tell the burgers from the drinks. Nothing is called the same over here. I did find this menu but I'll be dammed if I know what to say to order something from it hahaha. They don't look like what we have at home so I don't even know what I'm getting. It was a fun little adventure.
I'm sitting on the plane to Shanghai writing this post. We have just been served our airline food. Check this out; it's just not as good as First Class food from Qantas
They really know how to package food. I couldn't get my jelly open. When I finally did, or when John got it open for me – thanks John, I couldn't get my fork into it hahaha. The jelly was so tough I couldn't cut it. John though it was rather funny so took this pic.
Hong Kong is an amazing place; I guess most places around the world are amazing if you've never been there though right? I'm about to say all the cliché things like the buildings are so different, the smells are strange, the lights all work backwards blah blah and it's all true but I don't suspect you will understand unless you've been here.
The thing that did strike me first was the incredible difference between that which has been designed, as in it looks good and has had an artist work on it, and that which is just straight out functional. The housing buildings and office blocks are good examples. Housing buildings here are often tall grey ugly things that hang out over the edge of the sidewalks, and peoples washing hangs out even further. They have NO aesthetic appeal. They are just huge grey dimpled constructions that aren't much fun to look at. And then there are the office buildings. These are the pretty looking things. They express power and prestige of the companies that built them. They are beautiful glass structures with cool crisp lines.
Check out the difference in this photo. In the first you can see the HSBC bank office building and around it you see the high-rise apartments. I find the stark difference startling. I guess that in NZ the difference from building to building is not as pronounced because we don't tend to have it right next to each other.
I find this stark difference is present in nearly everything over here. One store will look very tidy and the one right next door is run down. One sign or advertisement will be well produced and right next door will be a sign with the letters falling off. The impact on me is probably magnified given that I work in the communications industry, but I know I would rather visit the stores that put effort into their appearance. Having said that, while talking to John he pointed out that there are so many people over here that every shop does well. They don't need to advertise or promote much because there are people everywhere and they all visit every store.
I walked past three 7-eleven stores all right next to each other and all three were full of people. No one was doing better than the others. They all had enough customers to keep them busy. I guess that's the great thing about running a business in a country with heaps or people.
Our hotel room is tiny. The bathroom is even smaller. I had a shower and was touching three walls at any given time – I'm not even exaggerating! I had trouble lifting my knee to wash my feet because there just wasn't enough room. The one bed I've slept in so far was a single made for Chinese people, not surprising really. My head was touching the headboard and my feet hung out the bottom by 15cm. It was a very firm mattress. I slept for 12 hours straight. The flights and working hard over the last week must have finally caught up.
I'm going to post a few of these photos in blogs but not all of them. So I'm set up a flickr so you can see all the photos I've taken. Check this out for all the photos and some brief descriptions http://www.flickr.com/photos/36369308@N06/
I'm not that big I guess but then I'm larger than most. Unfortunately I was blessed with wide shoulders which is great for Rugby, not so great for air plane seats.
I'm sitting in the middle seat on the flight from Wellington to Sydney. I had forgotten just how small the space is here. They served us breakfast, which was not bad, and I couldn't even get my food to my mouth hahaha. I can see the benefits of sitting by the window - with an extra two inches, of the aisle with a heap of space. I think next flight I will try not to sit in the middle. Hahaha don't suppose there is actually much chance of that happening though.
I can bearly type as I sit here with my MacBook on the tray. I wonder what I would do if the person infront puts their seat back. I've been running those lines through my head
"Hey dude, there ain't no room back here"
"Excus me, would you mind putting your seat up"
"Oi, I'm huge and there isn't any extra space"
or maybe just screaming like my legs is broken and stuck hahaha I think that would be the most fun.
Oh my goodness – John, my friend who is sitting by the window just had to get up for the bathroom. I couldn't move my legs in any direction to let him out. I know squeezing past people when in a row is hard but on a plane, on this plane it's nearly impossible! He moved a little, then I moved a little, then he pushed past a bit and I moved over there and he was free. Well that is till he had to get past the next person.
I can't wait for Premium Economy on our next flight. I'm told we are flying on one of the new A380s. Bring on Sydney to Hong Kong.
It all starts now. Well actually I guess it all started about 5 days ago when I washed every piece of clothing I had in preparation to pack my bags for the busiest six weeks of my life.
I washed my clothes with the best intentions of packing my bag on the Monday before I left for China on the Saturday. I got as far as doing the washing but nothing made it into my bag until last night, Thursday, at 12pm. I did manage to pack in 20mins though.
I've just taken off from Wellington – I'm not sure I'm allowed my MacBook on just yet but meh, it's on now. I have a slight headache from not enough sleep; I'm not complaining, just pointing it out. The last week has been fantastic but a little over the top. There have been many nights working till midnight and then up again working by 5am. Mostly because I get up to a heap of other stuff during the week like Rugby training and Church activities. My poor Girlfriend, Katherine, hasn't seen or heard much of me this week and when I have talked to her I've been totally distracted. I think she has managed well given that we are doing distance anyway and that makes it harder.
Today is Friday and I'm heading to Auckland to hang out with the Equippers Church crew. They are running an event that I would like to run in Wellington so I'm going to see how it's run. Everyone tells me it's great fun. The only bummer is that I have to be back in Wellington tonight, which means I have to leave half way through the event this evening. I should have enough time to see how it's run and get an idea of what they do.
I have to be back in Wellington tonight because I fly to China at 6am on Saturday. The thing that worries me is if I don't make my flight from Auckland to Wellington, I'll miss my flight to China. I'm on the last flight out of Auckland so there are no other options for getting home. I suppose I should have given myself a bit of breathing room but…well…meh who needs breathing room. Breathing room just takes all the fun and adventure out of life, or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself today. My back-up plan if my flight is canceled will be to run to the motorway and try catch a ride all the way down to Welly. That would be an adventure.
In a nutshell this is how my next six weeks look
All times are for the country listed above it
Leaving from
Travel details
Friday, 13 March
Wellington, NZ
Depart: 8:30am
Auckland, NZ
Arrive: 9:30am
Air NZ
Flight #412
Depart: 9pm
Arrive: 10pm
Flight #
Saturday, 14 March
Depart: 6am
Sydney, Australia
Arrive: 740am
Flight #QF118
Depart: 11:55am
Hong Kong, CH
Arrive: 5:45pm
Flight #QF127
Sunday, 15 March
Shen Zhen, CH
Shen Zhen. CH
Depart: 2pm
Shanghai, CH
Arrive: 5pm
Flight #CZ3551
Thursday, 19 March
Depart: 9:10pm
Beijing, CH
Arrive: 11:30pm
Flight #MU586?
Monday, 23 March
Depart: 4:05pm
Xi'an, CH
Arrive: 5:55pm
Flight #CZ6948
Tues, 24 March
Xi'an, CH
Chengdu, CH
Flight #MU2431
Wednesday, 25 March
Depart: TBC
Valley of 9, CH
Arrive: 5:30am
TBC – bus or train overnight
Saturday, 28 March
Depart: 12:40am
Chengdu. CH
Arrive: 1:30pm
TBC – bus or train
Sunday, 29 March
Depart: 9:05pm
Guilin, CH
Arrive: 10:35pm
Flight #3U8777
Tuesday, 31 March
Depart: 8:15pm
Zhengzhou, CH
Flight #SC4752
Saturday, 4 April
Depart: 8:20am
Guangzhou, CH
Arrive: 11:30am
Flight #CZ3391#
Depart: lunchtime
Arrive: Afternoon
5 April
Arrive: 7:55am
Flight #QF128
6 April
Depart: 9:15am
Arrive: 2:30pm
Flight: #QF47
Copyright ©2020 Hayden Sanders - Thoughts from a wild heart. All rights reserved. Sitemap.


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