The Idea of Travel

Anything not about Mac emulation.

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Cat_7
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Post by Cat_7 »

Our trip to Spain:
We went to Spain/Portugal quite unexpected after I finished my first PhD article and a conference paper. As my girlfriend is enjoying a sabbatical leave and I seemed to be exhausted, we decided to go on 4 days notice. Whenever we go on holiday, Spain is always on the list. Close by, accessible due to very limited language problems, and good cultural/nature experiences to be had. And ets not forget the mostly excellent food!.

More when I get home....

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Post by ClockWise »

In what subject is your PhD, Cat_7?
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Post by Cat_7 »

I'm doing my promotion in Educational Sciences. The topic is "Team Formation Services for Self-directed Lifelong Learners". The idea is to automated the team formation process normally undertaken by e.g., teachers to allow lifelong learners to form teams for project-based learning on well established theory and practise considering they lack the know-how that a team formation expert has.
Our institution allows promotion based on articles published in scientific journals.
You can pick up a prepint of the corresponding conference paper (it is a much condensed article) here: http://dspace.ou.nl/handle/1820/3361

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Post by Ambassador »

Hey Clockwise, if you don't mind me asking, where do you find the funds for travelling?
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Post by ClockWise »

I live a very cheap life.

I work really hard and spend only what I have to day-to-day. That's how I afford it!

I'm living in China now... so every day is sort of like traveling. Girlfriend and I take a trip to one new city each month. That sort of "domestic" travel is very cheap.

Life in China is inexpensive. We save a lot of money.
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Post by Ambassador »

I live a very cheap life.

I work really hard and spend only what I have to day-to-day. That's how I afford it!

I'm living in China now... so every day is sort of like traveling. Girlfriend and I take a trip to one new city each month. That sort of "domestic" travel is very cheap.

Life in China is inexpensive. We save a lot of money.
It's interesting to get another perspective on China. How's the quality of life, for example pollution?
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Post by ClockWise »

Quality of life is.... mixed.

I guess it is bad around here. Pollution can be moderate to severe. So that's bad. The city is not very green. Chinese cities are not as bad as you think... but this one IS. Most Chinese cities do have some green spaces and pleasant pedestrian areas. But not this one. So that's bad too.

Transportation is good, though. We have a subway system now... it is cheap as free. That's good. We have buses, too... but they are of low quality. So that's bad. But there are a limitless amount of taxis that are cheap as free as well. So that's good.

Safety is no concern here, just like in most of China. So that's good.

We like our living space. There are some nice middle-class apartments in China. We have one of those, which is quiet, comfortable and close to services.

I guess for a lot of people, this place wouldn't be livable. But girlfriend and I are very happy here. We like our little "adventure." We'll only be here two years (total), so I guess that makes it more livable. If I was here for the long-haul, the pollution might be bigger concern.
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Post by ClockWise »

Going away to Shanhaiguan for the long weekend! See you in three days...
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Post by Ambassador »

Going away to Shanhaiguan for the long weekend! See you in three days...
I should record your travels on a map. :P Do you have an estimate of how far you have travelled in this year alone?
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Post by ClockWise »

Ha ha... I guess all the train travel could be tabulated fairly easily. But no... no idea.

Girlfriend flew to Seoul yesterday to interview for a job in South America. If she's lucky, we'll move there in the new year. No idea what *I* would do there, but hopefully I'd be able to find something.

Meanwhile, our monthly trip will take us to the small city of Benxi this coming weekend, unless she's tired out from the interview. Will see a lot of China this year as we plan to spend summer vacation in-country.
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Post by ClockWise »

So we're moving to Paraguay at the start of 2012. Does anyone here know anything about Paraguay? First order of business for me: find something to do! Maybe a job, a school to attend, a volunteer opportunity...
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Post by IPalindromeI »

Not much other than well endowed chicks and lax censorship. (No VPN for you.)
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Post by ClockWise »

We didn't make it to Benxi. Going to fold July's monthly trip into summer vacation...

...which start this Saturday! We depart Saturday afternoon for a month in Sichuan and Yunnan. Mostly Sichuan. Looking forward to lots of national parks, some horse riding, hiking, small towns, Tibetan culture, bus rides...
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Post by Cat_7 »

Off to Norway next Saturday with motorbike and tent, for what I hope will be a lovely trip. (fully prepared for rain). Girlfriens stays at home, so bathing myself in the northern isolation should not be too difficult.

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Post by ClockWise »

That sounds nice, Cat_7. How long will you go?
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Post by Cat_7 »

2 weeks, and perhaps a little more...we already were in Spain/Portugal this year ;-)

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Post by ClockWise »

Nice! My brother rode his bike half-way across Canada a couple of weeks ago... of course he did it all in one burst without stopping! Twenty-two hours, it took...
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Post by ClockWise »

Still alive. Stopping in a place called (something like) MaErKang. It's a no-account town, but we will stay long enough to do laundy, re-fill our supplies, send e-mail, drink wine, etc.
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Post by ClockWise »

Lijian, now.
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Post by ClockWise »

And home again. A lovely trip. I liked the village of Tagong most of all... high up in the grasslands with lovely walks and horse-riding to be done.

Once I regain some of my lost energy, I think I might try updating wikitravel. I used printouts from that instead of buying a typical travel guide this time, so really ought to give something back to that community!
Last edited by ClockWise on Sat Nov 12, 2011 1:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Idea of Travel

Post by ClockWise »

Off to lovely (?) Fushun this weekend.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Fushun
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Re: The Idea of Travel

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We went to Fushun's aquarium. The aquarium is part of a complex which is billed as "China's largest Ocean World" (whatever that means). The aquarium is a massive, sprawling affair with a nice collection of fish and reptiles. But is is devoid of visitors. The place reminds me of the shopping mall built in China and billed as "The World's Largest Shopping Mall" despite the fact that it has only 2% occupancy!

We really liked out visit, of course. We were alone almost the whole time!
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Re: The Idea of Travel

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Leaving China (for good) on January 9. Will visit Korea for a week and then head to Tokyo for a five day stoppover en route to Canada. I've never been to Japan, so am very excited about seeing Tokyo.
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Re: The Idea of Travel

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I'm in Korea! Went back to my old digs (Incheon) and indulged in some nostalgia. I really missed this place. Life is good in Korea. I've always felt that Korea is a much more "livable" country than China, but I had forgotten the extent to which it is. We have some Chinese nationals on the board... so I feel I should say that I don't mean to be negative toward China. I loved it there! I guess having travelled around so many countries in Asia over the past couple years I just forgot how developed Korea is compared to the rest of the continent (save Japan).

Down to Namhae Island in a couple of days.

Fun fact: The male Korean character on LOST was from Namhae island!
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Re: The Idea of Travel

Post by Ronald P. Regensburg »

ClockWise wrote:Life is good in Korea.
Well, I suppose, at least in that one of the two Koreas.
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