Today at work, our boss announced there would be a company party to celebrate New Years Eve later that evening in our hotel, "at the boat".  That's right, "at the boat".  Amid the slot machines and crap tables that fill up our casino/hotel, guests enjoy the cuisine of a Mediterranean themed restaurant, Galileo complete with a life-size ship docked between the buffet and the bar.  Customers can choose to sit at the port or stern side of the deck, or those without their sea legs can opt to sit ...
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On our way home from work, our bus trudges over the snow covered bridge across the Neva River, St. Petersburg’s main waterway.  Looking quite different from the swiftly rushing river it was just days ago, the water is now at a complete standstill, jutting up in frozen ridges across the bumpy surface.  

A member of our security team told me the other day that we are lucky we’re visiting during the off season because when the river is thawed, the bridges are only kept down for a certain ...

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On every street corner you can spot him.  His eternal smile finds you from nearly every inch of the Peoples Square. And just when you think you’ve escaped his Gumby-like figure, a street peddler accosts you, shoving a stuffed, blue toy of his likeness in your face.  He is the face behind the slogan, “Better city, better life”.  He is the mascot of the 2010 World Expo, Haibao. 

 

With all the world’s eyes on Shanghai next year, great efforts have been taken to live up to the...

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Often referred to as “the Venice of the East”, Zhouzhuang offers visitors a unique shopping experience as they zigzag through this water township’s narrow cobble-stoned closes encountering treasures to remind them of their travels.  Although it can at times be difficult to maneuver through the crowd, avoiding the eager shouts of the shop owners advertising less desirable wares and mustering the courage to barter with those who offer true gems. 

Despite my own reluctance to haggle...

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After a long day of work, we were released from quarantine to eat at the restaurants a few blocks from our hotel and to explore the several levels of Carrefour, the local supermarket. Once the wall of humidity hit us as the sliding doors to our hotel opened, we were like kids in a candy store.  It's amazing what a few hours held up in a hotel can do to the spirit of a bunch of twenty-somethings.  We took photos, danced, even cried a little.  Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but ...
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