Jian Shuo Wang is Going to U.S.
By Jian Shuo Wang on 2004-11-12 18:25 · SeattleBreaking news! Jian Shuo Wang is going to U.S.
I will attend a business meeting in Seattle from Dec 7 to Dec 9, 2004. After that, I will start my vacation, the longest vacation since I graduated. I will be in America for two more weeks and get back to Shanghai after X’mas. My vacation will expire by the end of this year so I have to use it up quickly. My current project happens to end by the end of November, and it is good time to take a rest. The reason I choose U.S. (I thought of Tokyo before) is, I can combine it with the business trip - so I don’t have to worry about the visa. It is not easy to get a visa for U.S.
I am going to visit as many places as possible, across America. Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington are on my list. I am interested in visiting cities instead of nature scenery (like Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone).
I can safely claim that I have many friends in U.S., right? Some frequent readers emailed me to offer help when I go to his/her area one day. I appreciate it. I do need some help to prepare the trip and I am sure I can get your help.
Schedule
The schedule is not finalized, but here are some dates I have decided:
Dec 4 - Dec 6: Tokyo
Dec 7 - Dec 10: Seattle
Dec 11 - ??? Chicago
??? - ??? Not planned yet
Dec 14 - Dec 15: Boston
Dec 16 - Dec 19: New York
Dec 20 - Dec 22: Washington D.C.
Dec 23 - Dec 26: Chicago
There is a very good U.S. rail route map on AmTrak’s website.
My Question List. Abridged Version
Here is my list of questions so far.
Q1: Is there any other great places I should not miss in the trip?
Besides the cities I listed, is there any place that is so special that I need to stop by? I am taking the east route and won’t stop in California (sorry, carroll). I will visit it the next time. I take the trip as a great opportunity to really dive into the lives in U.S. so I have better understanding about some discussion on this blog regarding the different between U.S. and China. I am particularly interested in Metro systems, the public transportation (buses/ferries) and tourism guide boards there
**Q2: Is there better way to stay in Youth Hostel? What about Greyhound? What about AmTrak? Any one happens to know very cheap tickets or website? **
Transportation and accommodation are the largest portion of the travel expense. It is interesting that when I plan the trip, I ask exactly the same kind of questions others would ask me about Shanghai. I guess after the trip, I know the needs of travelers to Shanghai better and therefore, be able to provide better public service to foreign visitors and help make Shanghai friendlier.
Q3: I am going to spend 3 days in Chicago, 3 days in New York, 2 days in Washington D.C., 2 days in Boston Is it enough? Should it be longer, or shorter, considering my 2 week schedule?
Q4: Should I visit Texas or other south areas? I guess it is warmer there and it may be good to drive there.
Like Dan Washburn’s Cross China Trip, I am considering to find contact person before I visit any city. The route may also change based on whether I have a contact there. Send me an email if you would like to propose a meet.
Blogging on the Road
I decided no matter how tough the budgeted travel is, I will try to keep up blogging everyday during the trip and share the pictures. Can anyone suggest a good way to get connected? I will bring my laptop with me.
34 Comments
In terms of travel, the easiest way to get around is to fly and then rent a car when you get to the place. You can stay in Motels as you travel by car. That is especially true in western states (less true for big cities in the east).
The problem I had with Amtrak or Greyhound (I only took them 1-2 times, so do not take my word for it) is that their stations tend to be in the downtown area of big cities -- these are the worst neighborhood (as *unsafe* at night) and very poor local transportation services.
glad to heard you coming to US for vacation!
While you are in Seattle, don't forget to visit the flag shop of Starbuck by the waterfront near fishman wharf.
During the break of Dec 11-14, you may travel south to California or east to Yellowestone.
For Yellowstone, you can rent a car and take I-90 east to Montana, the drive is about 900Km from Seattle, Yellowstone is located at SE of Montana joining Idaho and Wyoming, inside the park the drive is about 3 hours and accommodation is available outside of the park gate. There are lot of points of interest along the route but half of them may be closed in winter, check the weather before you go, you may not able to handle the mountain road in the winter.
For Grand Canyon, you may fly to Las Vagas and rent a car travel east to Grand Canyon, it is about 200 Km and can be completed in one day, don't forget to see the Hoover Dam on your way back, tour in Las Vagas is self explanatory, but try to stay at the main stripe.
Should you need any advise or hotel booking, you may web the AAA and find it useful.
Have a good trip!
Stephen
Another alternative for you may be simple, join the local Chinese east coast tour from Seattle, if not available, join it at Vancouver. Check with toureast.com.
Stephen
This is my first time writing. I enjoy your website very much. In 2002 I spent about 3 weeks in Shanghai on holiday while I was working in Beijing. I had the best time there. The Shanghainese were great and the food was awesome. I plan to spend one year in Shanghai in 2005/2006. It is so exciting to hear you will come to North America in December. Congratulations on your opportunity. I live in Vancouver Canada which is just north of Seatlle. It has some of the most spectacular scenery on the continent. Be sure to go to the beach and see the ocean from this side. It may be a bit rainy and cool but it is not humid like your home town. Also, if you like basketball check the NBA scedule of the cities you will be in and go and see a game, it is quite an experience. I hope one day your travels will bring you to Canada also. Have a great trip
Donald
My two cents tips: Spend sometime on coastal cities, like Boston. Most of American cities are the same, driving around downtown Seattle isn't that different from driving around in downtown Chicago or New York, well, there something indeed you only find in New York: central park, wallstreet, broadway, radiocity, time square, and lots more... And MIT and Harvard in Boston.
Chicago can be a lot of fun. I am from Michigan and my family would often go there. (my brother and his wife even live there!) You just need to plan it right. It will be cold, but that is one of the best parts of Chicago--the cold and the Christmas shopping on Michigan Avenue. The museums in Chicago arent very expensive, yet they are of great value. Another option for you is to volunteer at a homeless shelter. You may think I am crazy, but you will see a side of America that most tourists never see. And you will enjoy helping out others.
Please bear in mind America is a big country, if you wish to see her in two weeks covering the cities you mentioned is not practical.
Would suggest you tour either west coast or east coast in this two weeks and perhaps you'll received an indepth feeling of the cities and people you visited.
N.B. Ever think about to include Canada in you visit?
Stephen
See, that is the great stuff of blogging and I am sure that you will many friends around the US cities. Enjoy the trip!
There is no place on earth like Manhatten. It's so exciting!
Wow, you will have so much fun, great itinerary!
If you want to study metro/subway systems, be warned that many systems in these US cities may not be that new and clean, in comparison to HK or Tokyo, say. The beauty with these system is not in the trains themselves, which they cannot aford to replace/update untill absolutely necessary, the beauty is often in the management, the efficiency. Some systems are infected with graffitis.
In Chicago what you don't want to miss is how famously busy O'Hare Airport's air and passenger trafic is, on the runways and between the terminals. The Chicago skyline, looking from the lakeshore, is quite spectacular during day and night.
Some have suggested that you visit Harvard and MIT in Boston, when on MIT campus do walk INTO the main building and have a feeling. I would also recommend the Science museum in Boston esp. the section about transportation. Ask about the "big dig."
When travelling in the US, do not be attempted to "historical" places that much, they are usually only 50-200 years old. Many of these major cities are quite similar, you see one and the next one has many aspects more or less the same.
There are three Americas: the downtown, the suburbs, and the country. I gues you will be seeing the first two.
Since my desitination are often in Seattle for my trip, and I always transit at SFO before, I still have plenty of chance to visia LA or other nearby places in the future, when I only have two or three day free time. But this time, it is very rare that I decided to spend so long vacation and I happen to finish my current project so I can go... East coast seems a better choice for me.
bigbro, I won't miss the attractions of Boston. I have bought the Boston for Dummies and the author mentioned bigdig. I also visited http://bigdig.com already.
As for places to stay in the US, you can try your luck with priceline.com. There is a good website (http://www.biddingfortravel.com/) where people list out the winning bid price they have gotten, and the hotel that they got for that price. It gives you a good reference price for the bids that you place on priceline.
Hope this helps.
For the same reason a lessor degree, you might want to cut back on Boston and DC.
Definitely load up on NYC. There's so much to do: Wall St., Statue of Liberty, Chinatown (LA's chinatown is nothing compared to NYC's THREE C-towns) , Midtown, Soho, Broadway, Museums, etc, etc ,etc, etc.
San Fran, Vegas, and LA are all nice too.
Since you will probably be able to visit the US again in the future, my advise would be to go to a few places first, and really experience all of it, instead of making a whirlwind tour. You can visit the 2nd tier cities on future visits.
As far as Chicago, I have to agree with LTZ, Skip it! This will allow you to have more time in the East Coast. All the cities there are not far from each other and all those cities have Chinatown. In Chinatown, there has the long distance bus services to all other cities you want go and it is cheap. The buses are operated by the local Chinese. They depart from one Chinatown and arrive to another. Ask the locals when got there.
I live only hour and a half away north of Chicago. The city of Chicago has a magnificent lakefront. But you only can fully appreciate its beauty during a warmer month. Visit it next time. Good Luck!
Don't miss Yellowstone if you like nature.
I wouldn't go to Chicago, NYC and D.C. in December unless you don't mind cold like Beijing's winter.
If you want go ski, let me know. CA has some best ski areas in the world. Even they are snow covered mountains they are still much warmer during the day than Chicago or NYC.
Jing, nice to hear from you. We may not visit SFO this time but we will definitely visit you in the next trip to SF. Thanks for the offer.
It's either the Valley is going out of business, or Redmond is.
In NYC,DC,Boston, the subways are very good so you can consider finding a cheap place away from downtown (like Cambridge near Boston where Harvard is, or Georgetown area in DC although it's still expensive there - maybe try Bethesda which is also on subway line). Avoid Greyhound or Amtrak stations - they were developed 100 years ago in the middle of town and by now most of them are inner city dumps, full of drug dealers and drunks and hookers. Seriously, be careful out there!
In case you take the train from NYC to DC, you can stop by Philladelphia easily for 2~3 hours and take in the sight of Independence Bell and Constitution Birthplace. If you have one more day, Niagra Falls in the winter can be very striking too. If you get to Yellowstone, I consider Grand Teton National Park (right next to Yellowstone) to be much prettier and not as boring (Old Faithful spring gets very predictable and boring - sorry to disappoint you). Yellowstone is better if you like wild life like buffalos. No one mentioned Yosemite National Park (4~5 hr from San Francisco) which is absolutely beautiful, and it has a unique peace in the winter.
Good luck!
David Ai
Menlo Park, CA