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I took the Viking River Cruise tour and saw Beijing, Xi’an, Chongqing… then sailed from Chongqing to Wuhan… and finally ended up in Shanghai. An AWESOME trip. The staff were so very friendly.

The only terrible part… there are vendors EVERYWHERE trying to sell you crap and following you around like lost puppies.

On the mini 3 gorges tour, my friend Lei translated what a woman was saying… the woman wanted to sell us her baby for $1. Crazy.

There’s quite a diametric of rich and very very poor still happening in China. I hope that we continue to see the entire country lift itself up and prosper.

-josh

Was Christmas 2006. Every one of the locals(ok, I admit I saw ONE guy who looked Turkish or something) is white and, funny enough, that’s a bit disconcerting for me. I’m from Boston and I’m used to diversity. None o’ that here.

The opera house and the theater in Riga were amazing! The shows were quite well done and entertaining. The architecture and the building were just heads-and-tails above anything we have in the US.

Oh, and a tip for all you American tourists… DRESS UP for the theater. It makes the experience all that much more genuine. I brought a blazer and slacks and I felt really under dressed. Next time will be a suit. =)

I also visited Jurmala, a quaint little seacoast city. I walked up and down the beach on the Baltic seacoast and through the city center. It’s a city that really hasn’t awakened yet… but it seems to have the potential to spark into an exciting place.

Next time I go (Christmas 2007) I plan on trying to get to some of the other places in the country. =)

-josh