Shanghai Layover! :D

So, I had a 10 hour layover in Shanghai, China on my return flight to Bangkok from Tokyo, Japan.....I have a friend name Jerry who lives in Shanghai who previously lived with me in 2008 for a summer while doing an AIESEC CEED in Ottawa. So he came to the airport to hangout with me. BUT I was sad because I did NOT have time to get a Chinese Visa before so was thinking I could NOT visit Shanghai during my layover.....well EVER so CONVENIENTLY....the Pu Dong Int'l Airport Transfer terminal was under construction....so i went through immigration and security and then they let all the transfers out into the regular departures section to just come BACK through immigration and security to re-enter the airport. Well, If I am let into the regular airport unaccompanied.....what is stopping me from sneaking into China for the day?!?! NOTHING! haha So Jerry and I walked out of the airport casually and off we went into the overcast day of Shanghai!!! :D hahah I wasnt caught so it is ALL good!! :D Jerry took me to the major sights of Shanghai including the EXPO2010, but gates were up so I could only see the pavilions from afar! Sad face! haha But I was still there! Then we just walked around all afternoon and went to the bridges of 9 turns, which actually used to be somebodys HOUSE! but then he died and it was given to the government and is now public and a shopping district! It was super cool to walk around in this area!!! Jerry took me for REAL Chinese food which is NOTHING like Mr.Chinese....for better or for worse....its hard to say....haha Real Chinese food is delicious but is just doesnt have that Uber greasy, hang-over cure, heart attack central, Lure about it!!! hahahah But delicious non the less! mm mm mm!! Food is good! hahah

Then I returned to the airport and went through security no questions asked! :D

What a fantastic day in Shanghai China! All thanks to Jerry who is wonderful!!

Happy Days Folks!


Chrystal McKay







Ps. Returning to Bangkok heat from the FREEZING cold weather of both Japan and China is shocking. haha. It is just SO HOT here...you can hardly breath! But ohhh it feels SO good to sweat again and NOT have to wear 7 layers of shirts cause you dont have any thick sweaters!!! haha <3

Japan is Beautiful!

So Japan is a beautiful country. The scenery, the people, the food! Everything is amazing here. :)

I went for 10 days from Friday April 9th til Mon April 19th. :) I stayed at friends houses for the entire time I was in Japan.

My travels were
9/10/11 - Tokyo
12/13/14 - Kyoto
15 - Nara
16 - Osaka
17/18/19 - Tokyo again.

I went to Japan to experience the Cherry Blossom (Sakura) session. These trees only blossom for about 1-2 weeks out of the entire year. So for me to be able to make it to Japan to see them was phenomenal! They were amazingly beautiful and they were EVERYWHERE! There are alot of different types of Sakura, and I have pictures of about 5 different kinds. My AIESEC friends Keita, Aki, Ayo, Kana, Kazu, and Shota all showed me around in their cities and showed me Japanese lifestyle. I ate meals with their families, slept in their homes, and I couldnt be more greatful to them for giving me that opportunity to experience 'life' in Japan! :)

I even went out and got fitted and purchased a Kimono while in Kyoto, which is the Kimono capital and a city where traditional Japanese culture is kept alive and well; with geisha's and lots of girls in Kimonos. It was fantastic to see!

Ps. Japanese food is to DIE for! Sushi, Udon, and Japanese Pancakes! mm Mm!!! :) If I lived there I would get so fat! haha but certainly I would be HAPPY!

Cheers Folks!

the Ancient City aka Fake Thailand!

Jealous of the weather

ohhhh look at that heat ;) And there was NOOOO rain today. that was a LIE.

LOVE Thailand <3 ;)

Khorat, Phimai, Phanom Rung, and Surin - Festivals, Ruins, and Silk!

For a little trip. Jackie and I went to Northeastern region of Thailand to watch silk getting made. But conveniently, Apriil 3-5th is a festival in this region at the ancient Khmer ruins because it is the proper sun alignment. So we got to attend a few festivals in each city! We also saw some of the largest Banyan trees in Thailand. That tree is ALL one HUGE tree. it has lots and lots of trunks and it just creeps all over the place. it was neat. The silk making factory was beautiful. there were 4 ladies per machine working on two different floors. In total they can only make about 4CM a day!! They have to dye the silk as well and that takes 3 months to do!!! It takes a VERY long time to make ONE scarf which sells here in Thailand for like 15$ CAN!!! it is insane!!

APXLDS - Post Tour!

After the conference I attended the Post tour. They took us to Taipei and Hualian and around those areas! It was alot of fun. One big bus filled with post conference AIESEC'rs all pumped up from the conference!! we saw some beautiful things! My favourite part was the coastal bike tour AND the hot springs we went to!! mmmmm I love hot springs!! :)

Me overlooking the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Taiwan!! :)

Dancing with the Aboriginals!! We learned songs before meeting them and dances and if you screwed up teh dance steps you had to Drink this POTENT nasty alcohol!! haha

We biked the Hualian Coastal trail. Here are our bikess looking out at the beach!!

Me at the Gorges in the national park! These were HUGE and so so beautiful!!

Me holding up somebody at the National Palace Museum. You couldnt take pictures INSIDE the museum because they dont want an inventory of their objects. They stole all this stuff from China long ago haha

Old hotel in Taipei, Taiwan!

Spelling AIESEC on the beach in Hualian with Liz from Ohio, USA!!!

APXLDS - AIESEC is AMAZING

APXLDS was AMAZING. I loved every moment of it. In 7 days I only got 12 hours of sleep in total! But that did not matter because there was so much energy at the conference it was easy to just keep going and keep smiling and laughing. Everybody was fantastic. Everyday they hosted sessions for us and in the evenings they hosted different theme parties; Beer Party, Taiwan Night, Beach Party, Gala Night.

I met so so so many amazzzing people and I obtained a job in the Philippines for the summer in July/August!! Yay me!! :D

I love Asia. I want to stay here forever! The people are wonderful and the cultures are ALL so incredibly different!!! I Love it! :) This was one of the BEST weeks of my LIFE!

These are my roomates!! Karen from Hong Kong, Akira from Japan, Me, and Jamie from Korea!! They are all amazing people and I love them oh so much!!! haha!

This is Kazu from Japan and I!!! He shared my birthday so we partied alllll night together!! He was born in 1990 though but thats ok!! He is hilarious.

This is at the Global village!! Me with Korea!! I LOVE their dresses! I cant wait to visit Korea at end of August on my way home to Canada!!!

This was the Taiwan night they put on! It was a little market with foods and games and sparklers and SMILES!!

This is a photo of the beer party final!! haha Teams were composed by country and competed against eachother!! Sadly I was the only Canadian that drank (there was one other Canadian) and so On my team I have Cambodia, Thailand, Hungary, and I!!

Taipei, Taiwan!

So I spent 3 days in Taipei before going to the conference in Kaohsiung!! Taipei is a beautiful city!! I went to a whole bunch of temples. I just took the metro everywhere. It is VERRRRY handy that metro - no problems no problems!

I stayed with a guy named Ken, who couchsurfed me for the 2 nights I was there. The first night he took me the the Memorial and we went to a kickboxing class! It was ALOT of fun but VERRRY tiring. I. Am. Laazzy! haha. Afterwards he took me to a night market and ordered me delicious Taiwanese food! and BUBBLE TEA!!! Taiwanese bubble tea is fantastic!!! Im addicted! Hardcore!

Then the second day Ken had to work so I just wandered around by myself from metro station to metro station getting off to view temples and scenery!! It was a good time. then I got slept and wokr at 4AM to catch a 5:30AM train down south! haha. Here are some beautiful photos of Taipei!! :)