Zigong, China? Where the hell is Zigong? It’s located in Sichuan province. This small city has 3 million people. Yes just 3 million people. That’s apparently small for China. The cool thing about going to lesser known places is that usually you come across things that are really cool, that you would never expect to find. The lantern festival is one of them. Every year they host a lantern festival in the downtown area. It is really cool. Check out the video to get a small taste of what it was like:

I barely remember my first trip out of Canada. We drove from Winnipeg to Mexico City when I was four. I have some memories of the trip but most of it is probably a reconstruction. I was lucky as a kid because my parents liked to travel and I am Canadian. Being Canadian makes travelling so easy but it’s not the same for people from every country. My mother was born in Mexico and even though she moved to Canada and is a citizen that one small detail would lead to delays and hassles as at various borders.

Even for me just having an “ethnic” family name has led to many extra questions and delays, though mostly for entering into America. So when I decided to go on a trip with my girlfriend the first decision wasn’t where but more of where could we go? It is still difficult for mainland Chinese to get visas for many countries. It even matters where in China you are from. It is easier if you are from Shanghai or Beijing. In fact just google “countries that don’t require a visa for Chinese citizens” and you end up with a short and interesting list of countries to say the least. At first we were going to go to Vietnam but my girlfriend could only get five days off. So we decided to head to South Korea as it would be easy. I know everywhere and it would be great to see friends.

It took a few weeks to get the visa and my girlfriend had to fill out an extensive application which included proof of house ownership. She is lucky because her mother bought her an apartment in her hometown and put it her name. Imagine if you had to prove you owned a house just to travel to another country. In the end she got the visa. I on the other hand just had to show up at the airport and upon entering South Korea with no questions asked was granted a six month tourist visa. I don’t own an apartment. My girlfriend was given a one month visa.

At the Shanghai airport we had to exit through different lines. I cleared security quickly. I turned around to greet my girlfriend but she was nowhere to be found. A minute later I got a call from her. She sounded very nervous. She had been taken into the back room and questioned. They checked all her paper work. A few minutes later she came through security. She was upset by what happened. I reminded her of the excitement of it being her first trip. I told her about all the times I have been pulled by security. It’s not right but you can’t let it get to you and in end the end you are on the way to where you want to go.

We touched down in Korea and headed through customs. As my girlfriend walked through the exit gate into Korea I felt excited. Firsts are always a great experience. Please enjoy the video of her trip:

I shot video every day, but I didn’t want to interrupt the trip by get too involved in it. I just want to document from a distance so that my girlfriend could later watch the video and be reminded of her trip. I think experiencing it was most important and she didn’t need to be mugging for the camera. It was great experience for me getting so much footage from different places and different times of day. I spent a really long time editing this video. I even bought a small sound mixer, because the initial voice over sounded way to tinny. I learned a ton shooting this video and think it turned out pretty good.

I returned back home. There are still many unsolved mysteries. What happened? Where was I taken? What happened while I was gone? And why...?

I hope you have had a great holiday season. I have redesigned the site and have many new projects on the way!

Everybody knows Shanghai. But how much do you really know about Shanghai. Check out these interesting facts.

Why not go to Chinatown in China? I headed out for the snacks and Museums. But I missed out on the cricket fights...

  It made me wonder if we would come across anything to check out. It ends up that Jiaxing has a lot to offer. South lake is a great way to spend the afternoon and for a really small lake it has so much history.

Cost: 23.49usd 148rmb    Wiki Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaxing

Qingdao is a tale of two trips. Before I went I heard nothing but praise about Qingdao so I was pretty excited to arrive. Qingdao is very beautiful and a great place to walk around. The first day we walked on the beach which reminded me of my days in Busan. There is also an unlimited amount of attractions to see. We slowly decided on what we would check out. I have admit that Qingdao is a great place to visit and really beautiful.

The other side of the trip is that it ended up being one of the toughest trips I have ever done. When I traveled through Central America in three months I had gotten lost once and got one bad exchange on money which resulted in about a 20 dollar loss. That was it. I guess I always felt immune to having problems on trips. Qingdao would prove me wrong. Day on we got charged double for our Taxi. Ok day two will be better. Well it ended with an argument and the police at the restaurant we ate as once again we had been ripped off. Still the amount of money lost was still pretty low around 20 dollars. It was just annoying to be ripped off every day. Then day three I had my wallet stolen. I had been more careful than I usually am but in a ten minute window of not paying attention. It was gone. I had 160 dollars in the wallet and my bank cards which took a few weeks to get back. The good thing was that I was not alone. I was with my girlfriend so we still had money to get around. It was a good lesson and I will need to be far more careful in the future.

The opening sequence in the English version of the video when I am talking about being a real traveler was just after I had my wallet stolen. I didn’t let the filming stop! I think the video from Qingdao is really good. One of the best videos I have done to date! Enjoy!

Cost: For two people we spent 5,000 rmb 787usd. Flight 1200rmb 189usd roundtrip per person, 4 star hotel 700rmb, 110usd a night

Where Did I go? Qingdao, China, Tsingdao Beer Museum, Laoshan Lao Mountain, St. Michael's Cathedral, The Protestant Church(基督教堂), May Fourth Square,

How do you get there?

From Shanghai we flew from Hongqiao Airport located on Line 2 of the Shanghai Subway Station.

Changzhou is just an hour away by high speed train. I really enjoyed the day in Changzhou. The city seems very nice. Hong mei Park is a great place to walk around for the afternoon. Overall the day was super busy as I decided to shoot four videos in one day. I had made some notes, but I still tried the task of keeping most of it straight in my head. It was also the first time we would shoot a video in Chinese. We shot right till it got dark. The world’s tallest pagoda was very interesting and a little strange. I have been to several very commercial Buddhist places now in China. They are very nice places to visit but definitely are missing what more authentic temples are like. Changzhou is definitely worth visiting.

Cost: Train Round trip 102rmb 16.37usd, Tianning Temple 80rmb 13.96usd, Famous Changzhou Comb 5rmb .80usd

Where Did I go? Changzhou, China, Tianning Temple, Hong mei Park, Comb Lane

How do you get there?

From Shanghai catch the train to Changzhou from Hongqiao train station. You can walk to Tianning Temple where the world’s tallest pagoda is located from the Changzhou train station. If you want to get to Comb Lane you will need to take a taxi.

Over the past couple of months I have travelled quite a bit. I have been to Beijing, Qingdao, Changzhou and Jiaxing. For the trip to Changzhou I shot four videos in one day. It was a bit much for one day, but I was excited because I got a new camera. I picked up a Canon 600d last month. (Rebel Ti3) I have been shooting in 24p mode ever since. Overall I am really impressed with the camera. I have quickly gotten used to it. It even allows you to manually adjust the audio record levels. I set them too low the first few trips but have figured out better settings now. I picked up a new computer too! Over the last year I have struggled to edit HD video on a slow system that couldn't play HD video. I was constantly waiting for video to render so I could check my edits or edit. That era is over. I got a decent system running now. I even have it setup so I can edit with two monitors. I am running an I7 2.2ghz system with 8g of ram, an Intel 160g SSD hard drive and Nvidia Geforce HD video card. It's fast, before it could take 2 hours to render a video now it takes 6 minutes. Pictured below is my new system.

Oh yah this week's video! These are some general tips for travelling in China. This video was the last video shot with my trusty Samsung HMX 20c. I still carry it with me on trips but starting next week all the videos are shot with my new camera!

Thanks for watching!

The minute you step into any tourist area in Beijing you are going to be approached by someone selling you a tour to the Great Wall. Tours range from 15 dollars to over a hundred if you want a private driver and car. Many of the tours were feature stops at Jade factories or other places where they will try to sell you a bunch of stuff. If you want to avoid that you can take a train to the Wall. Even though the train’s main purpose is to go to the wall, it is not advertised well or that obvious. There are no signs in English at the train station. It feels like the people from the tours have paid the train to keep it low key. Once you are on the train it is pretty easy after that. They will even come to sell you tickets to the great wall.

I would like to give a special thanks to Kazuki Sawai from Japan. I met him on the train. He also helped me film!

Where Did I go?

The great wall, Wang Fu Jing,

Cost:

Riding the subway 2rmb .33usd per trip, The great wall 45rmb cable car 65rmb Train to the Great wall round trip 26 rmb

How do you get there? Take the subway line 4 , 13 or 2 to Xizhimen Station and go out Exit A. You will see the train station go buy tickets for the S2 train. Be forewarned there is no English in the station and no signs that explicitly point out that there is a train to the great wall. There is a sign on one ticket window that says S2. The trains run pretty regularly.

Wang Fu Jing is located outside subway station Wangfujing on Line 1. It is just past Tiananmen Square. It is possible to walk for the square to the shopping district but it is a long walk.

Day two the walking continued. I got the summer palace in the early afternoon. It is a beautiful place to walk around, but it is huge. After enjoying the old architecture I headed to check out the latest architecture. I checked out the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest stadium. Both are very cool buildings. There is still a food court area on the Olympic grounds. It features food from all over China. As I walked around the Olympic area I was stopped several times to have my picture taken. I guess they must have thought I was an athlete. At least that is what I am going to believe. I do know this I felt as tired as an athlete who competed in the Olympics at the end of the day. After enjoying the sunset at the square I went inside the Water Cube. Then I headed back to rest and get ready for day three.

Where Did I go?

The Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace, The Water Cube, The Bird’s Nest,

Cost:

Riding the subway 2rmb .33usd per trip, The Temple of Heaven 35rmb 5.66usd, The Summer Palace 60rmb 9.70usd, The Water Cube 30rmb 4.85usd, The Bird’s Nest 50rmb 8.09usd,

How do you get there? You can get to The Temple of Heaven by taking subway line 5 to Tiantandongmen station. To get the Summer Palace take subway line 4 to Beigongmen station. To get to the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube take line 8 to Olympic green station.

The experience:

Shanghai and Beijing are now connected by high speed train. The new train takes five hours to reach the national capital and is around half the price of flying. A recent train crash in Hangzhou has lowered the popularity of the new train. With that in mind I still took the train. I like travelling by train and was hoping to enjoy some nice scenery on the trip. Overall it is pretty boring. The train made it there no problem and I was able to find my hotel. I rest the evening and got ready for my first big day in Beijing. It was a Saturday so things were packed everywhere. The area of Tiananmen Square is huge. Just behind it is the Forbidden City. I walked a lot all day! I was able to get into Mao’s Mausoleum. It took over an hour and I had to check my bag and camera. Overall it was pretty good day!

Cost:

Riding the subway 2rmb .33usd per trip, Mao’s Mausoleum free, National Museum free, Zhengyangmen Gate 20rmb 3.31usd , Forbidden City, 60rmb 9.92usd

Where Did I go?

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mao’s Mausoleum, National Museum, Zhengyangmen Gate

How do you get there? All the places I went to are located at or around Tiananmen Square. You can get there by taking subway line 1 to East or west Tiananmen Square Station

The experience:

We wanted to stay a night at Jinshan but nowhere would rent me a room. Not even a sketchy love motel. So we headed back to Shanghai. The next morning we had a full day to spend together. After some searching on the internet we decided to try Sheshan Park. Even though it was a pretty hot day we had fun. The walk through the park was nice and the air was much cleaner than in Shanghai. It’s worth a day trip to get out of the city!    

Cost:

The two parks on the hill are free. Dinosaur Museum: Lookout tower: 5rmb .78usd Bamboo Amusement Park(maze) 10rmb 1.54usd

Where Did I go?

Sheshan Park

How do you get there?

Take Subway Line 9 to Sheshan Station. You can either walk to the park in about 30 minutes or grab a

taxi. There are two free parks on the hill. There is also an amusement called Happy Valley, a sculpture park, a resort and golf course nearby.

The experience:

If you head to a market in China you got to learn to bargain. Fake markets still exist but many have been put under pressure to close. Shanghai biggest fake market is located at the subway station Science and Technology Museum. There are tons of shops. My best advice is to check prices before you go and decide what you want to spend. They will always give you a fairly overpriced offer to start. Stay calm and start to bargain. There are lots of good and decent sellers so don’t be discouraged by the occasionally crap one trying to rip you off. Also don’t be cheap or rude! Have fun! I really enjoyed the day and in the end was happy with my purchases!

Cost: Deal #1 Billabong Surf shorts 85rmb 13.13usd

Deal #2 2 Affliction T-shirts 110rmb 17.00usd

Deal #3 Jack Jones Shorts 70rmb 10.82

Deal #4 Converse Chuck Taylor shoes 50rmb 7.73usd

Total: 315rmb 48.67usd

Where Did I go?

Shanghai AP Xinyang Fashion and gifts market.

How do you get there?

Take Subway line two to Science and Technology Museum Station. Right beside the Station in the underground is the market. There is also a custom clothes area and jewellery area.

The experience:

Oriental land is a strange place. It was opened in 2001. Its purpose is to promote activity and sports. There are training areas and places where you can test your skill. There is a huge rock climbing area. Then it gets a bit weird. There is Wisdom Avenue which features statues of the world’s great thinkers. There is the military area which has a huge recreation of a battleship, go kart area and simulation battlefield. The coolest part is the amphibious truck. The park is huge so renting a bike is a must. There is a lot to see. You won’t be disappointed. But be forewarned many areas are off limits or not working properly as some are set up for team events and are not maintained for regular visitors. Many of the things cost extra in the park including the truck ride. Also bringing your own lunch would be a great idea! There seemed to only be one restaurant open and it was overpriced and didn’t look that good.

Cost: Bus and Park entrance 80rmb 11.85usd, Truck ride 30rmb 4.44usd, Bicycle rental 10rmb/hour 1.48usd (100rmb deposit 14.81usd)

The video in HD:

Where Did I go?

Oriental Land

How do you get there?

Take Subway line one or four to Shanghai Indoor Stadium Station. Right beside the stadium is the Shanghai tour bus terminal. The bus leaves at 10am and comes back at 4:30pm.

The experience:

Last year I lived 5 minutes from the beach in Busan and Busan has five beaches. So I missed being able to go to the beach. Even though Shanghai is close to the ocean, the core of the city is still a good hour or two from the ocean. The ocean around Shanghai is brown, not very tempting for swimming. I was on a quest to find a beach. Originally I was going to go to Ningbo as there are supposed to be some nice beaches on the ocean. Ningbo is about three hours from Shanghai. It would take close to six hours to get to the beach, too long for a two day trip. After more internet searching I found out about the man made beach that is still inside the Shanghai district. Jinshan’s sand comes from Hainan Island and features a filtering system to clean the water so you can swim in it. We headed there. It is fairly easy to get to and overall is ok. It will never become a beach hotspot but if you need to get out of the urban jungle for the day it’s a good spot. All day we sat under blue skies, which is worth it in itself. Shanghai rarely sees the blue color spectrum above it. The water was warm and swimmable. I learned one lesson on our trip. Bring my passport. We wanted to stay a night at Jinshan but nowhere would rent me a room. Not even a sketchy love motel.

Cost:

Bus Shanghai to Jinshan 10rmb 1.55usd, Two beach chairs and Umbrella for the day 50rmb 7.77usd and 50rmb deposit, Locker for the day 10rmb and 20rmb deposit, Weird human hamster tube 20rmb 3.11usd a person, Fish foot bath 10rmb, Bicycle taxi 5rmb .78usd

Where Did I go?

Jinshan Beach

How do you get there?

Take Subway Line 1 to station Jingjiang Park. Just beside the Station is a small Bus station. The bus docks in the spot closet to the washrooms. You will want Jinshan Beach written in Chinese.(金山沙滩)Show it to the ticket office and the bus driver to confirm. At the bus station in Jinshan grab a small bicycle taxi to the beach.

My favourite meal is breakfast. Shanghai offers many different options. In the morning it is super busy. Many street vendors and small shops offer quick breakfast to go. A very popular breakfast in Shanghai is Sho Danbing. It is a kind of pancake that is fried and then it has different things added to it. It’s pretty simple but very delicious. The owner was very cool to let me cook. Many people stopped to check out what I was doing.