Archive for Asia
TravelBlur.com Wins Three Travel Writing Awards
Posted by: | CommentsMy mom taught me not to brag, but I’m going to do it anyway.
As of Saturday, I can now call myself an “award-winning” freelance writer. You read it correctly. Someone actually gave me an award - and not just one, but three. They came from a legitimate journalism organization too.
The folks here at TravelBlur.com (that’s really just me) brought home two first place and one second place writing awards from the Oklahoma Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Seriously, we won.
My lovely wife and I took home a first place award in the Leisure Writing category for Newspaper Division B (circulation 7,000 to 25,000) for a collaborative effort headlined The Splendor and Rich Heritage of Copenhagen which appeared in Edmond Life and Leisure.
In the Newspaper Division C (circulation less than 7,000) Leisure Writing category, this writer captured first place with a story titled Giant Buddha Rules Kamakura and second for a Halloween piece called Prague’s Creepy Gothic Church of All Saints. Both stories published in The Journal Record.
While honors and awards are a welcome validation, the true joy of writing comes not from the accolades, but from a quality turn of phrase. I like writing, I like crafting a narrative and, honestly, I like winning awards too.
Shanghai Airport Maglev Monorail a Real Trip
Posted by: | CommentsLike many people, I get frustrated when I travel to a new destination and face a long ride from the airport to the city center. I’ve faced this aggravation on more than one travel trip, but not when I travel to Shanghai.
When I land at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport I take a high-speed ride on the Maglev train, the world’s first commercial magnetic levitation line. Reaching speeds of 267 mph, the Maglev train connects the airport with the Longyang Road Metro Station almost 19 miles away in only eight minutes.
I’m probably not the only passenger flipping my attention between the blurry landscape outside the window and the speedometer display as the numbers climb ever higher before topping out at almost 270 mph.
It’s fast, kinda fun and sure beats riding a city bus.
Con “Artist” + Cocky Traveler = Embarrassing Lesson
Posted by: | CommentsI don’t fall for travel scams because I’m too smart for that rubbish. When I travel to a foreign city, I don’t need a travel agent or travel guide because I’m a smart guy, a world traveler if you will.
Or so I thought.
My lovely wife and I like cheap travel, so we usually go it alone. When we arrived in Beijing, our first time to travel to Asia, we promptly became super lost looking for the Forbidden City. I, of course, deal with the process of getting lost in a new travel city by getting mad. Thankfully, cooler heads (hers) prevailed and we kinda figured out where we were going and stumbled on down the road.
Soon after, a polite young Asian man on a bicycle asked if we were looking for the Forbidden City. When we replied affirmatively, he generously offered to show us the way. (You can see this coming now, can’t you?) A chatty Cathy, the young man took us down a side street talking all the while about how he was an artist, and wouldn’t you know it, we just happened to be passing right by his studio. Then he invited us in for a look.
Like a sheep to the slaughter, I headed for the door.
My wife, wise to the scheme the entire time, let me get to the middle of the street before she called out that I was being duped. That polite young man was an artist alright – a scam artist. Shaking his head at the one that got away, our young guide headed back to the main road in search of his next mark while I hung my head in shame.
The moral of the story, aw crap, there’s no moral only embarrassment.
