Why do I write travel journal? To document my thoughts and to occasionally share travel tips. I like to write about the people I meet and specific situations I experience; since I am slowly making more and more international friends, I think now is a good time to write about one thing that my non-Chinese-American friends don’t usually understand – The languages I speak.
I speak English and Cantonese Chinese (also Java, C++, and sarcasm if you count those :)). I grew up in Hong Kong and moved to the US at age 17. Having lived in both sides of the world long enough, I am fairly comfortable with both languages – There is no issue writing, reading, speaking, or listening to either language (here I am talking about everyday conversation. If you talk medical terms, rocket science, or anything about Kim Kardashian I would have no clue regardless).
However, the speaking portion of my Mandarin Chinese is somewhat limited (there are 200+ other Chinese dialects, but let’s stick with Mandarin and Cantonese, as they are the most common ones): Writing is the same in both dialects so there is no issue. Depending on what accent of Mandarin you speak, I can generally understand 70-90% (again, no rocket science). Speaking though is the funny part – I have never officially learned how to speak Mandarin, so I mostly picked it up through songs and movies. I speak Mandarin with a thick Cantonese accent and I oftentimes just make words up!
During my travel, I occasionally make new friends from Taiwan and mainland China. When that happens, I usually (choose to) speak with them in Mandarin instead of English – I learned that it is oftentimes easier to connect with people when you speak their mother tongue: People give me brownie points for trying to speak a dialect / language that I am not proficient in (I have made quite a number of friends this way, so I know it works!). Besides, they usually have a lot of fun listening to my mispronunciations, as my mispronunciations oftentimes lead to some hilarious moments.
Museum of the Second World War, newly opened in March 2017.
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WWII began when the Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. The 80 millions fatalities over the next 6 years made WWII the deadliest conflict in human history. The UN was established soon after to prevent another such conflict.
@Gdansk
Museum of the Second World War, newly opened in March 2017.
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WWII began when the Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. The 80 millions fatalities over the next 6 years made WWII the deadliest conflict in human history. The UN was established soon after to prevent another such conflict.
@Gdansk
After seeing over a hundred of churches / bridges / palaces / fortresses in Europe, even the grandest architecture doesn’t seem as exciting anymore. When I think about my experience in a city / country, the first thing that comes to mind is usually not the structures I see, but the people I meet, the food I eat, or specific things I do – Biking is one of those fun things.
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Warsaw has a great bike rental system. Rental stations with high quality bikes are all over the city. All I have to do is to use my phone to sign up for an account. Once I do that I will receive the unlock code for the bike. I can then ride my bike all over the city and return it to any station when I’m done – With a bike I can go a lot farther and faster; some Poles even rent bikes this way to go to work.
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For a few Euros I get to see the city in a fun way, renting a bike is well worth it.
@Warsaw
After seeing over a hundred of churches / bridges / palaces / fortresses in Europe, even the grandest architecture doesn’t seem as exciting anymore. When I think about my experience in a city / country, the first thing that comes to mind is usually not the structures I see, but the people I meet, the food I eat, or specific things I do – Biking is one of those fun things.
//
Warsaw has a great bike rental system. Rental stations with high quality bikes are all over the city. All I have to do is to use my phone to sign up for an account. Once I do that I will receive the unlock code for the bike. I can then ride my bike all over the city and return it to any station when I’m done – With a bike I can go a lot farther and faster; some Poles even rent bikes this way to go to work.
//
For a few Euros I get to see the city in a fun way, renting a bike is well worth it.
@Warsaw
Auschwitz concentration / extermination camp, where over a million Polish Jews were killed by the way of gas chambers during WWII.
@Krakow
Auschwitz concentration / extermination camp, where over a million Polish Jews were killed by the way of gas chambers during WWII.
@Krakow
Auschwitz concentration / extermination camp, where over a million Polish Jews were killed by the way of gas chambers during WWII.
@Krakow
Auschwitz concentration / extermination camp, where over a million Polish Jews were killed by the way of gas chambers during WWII.
@Krakow
Gas chamber in extermination camp.
@Krakow
Zyklon B, a pesticide used in gas chambers during the Holocaust.
@Krakow
Polish Jews being transported in a truck to the concentration camp.
@Krakow
After seeing over a hundred of churches / bridges / palaces / fortresses in Europe, even the grandest architecture doesn’t seem as exciting anymore. When I think about my experience in a city / country, the first thing that comes to mind is usually not the structures I see, but the people I meet, the food I eat, or specific things I do – Biking is one of those fun things.
//
Warsaw has a great bike rental system. Rental stations with high quality bikes are all over the city. All I have to do is to use my phone to sign up for an account. Once I do that I will receive the unlock code for the bike. I can then ride my bike all over the city and return it to any station when I’m done – With a bike I can go a lot farther and faster; some Poles even rent bikes this way to go to work.
//
For a few Euros I get to see the city in a fun way, renting a bike is well worth it.
@Warsaw
Zapiecek, a Polish restaurant with a “grandmother’s country cottage” look.
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This place was so good I ended up coming back 3 times to try other dishes.
@Warsaw
Polish sour rye soup, served with grilled white sausage, egg, and bread.
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The white creamy thing on the egg is horseradish, which tastes exactly like wasabi.
@Warsaw
Beef belly soup.
@Warsaw
Hostel decoration gets fancy.
@Warsaw
Wieliczka Salt Mine.
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To get to the salt mine, we had to walk 55 levels down, 130 meters deep (a whole lot of stairs!). The last 10 levels were inaccessible because those levels were totally submersed in water; oxygen was regulated and maintained by closing one door before opening another.
@Krakow
Wieliczka Salt Mine.
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To get to the salt mine, we had to walk 55 levels down, 130 meters deep (a whole lot of stairs!). The last 10 levels were inaccessible because those levels were totally submersed in water; oxygen was regulated and maintained by closing one door before opening another.
@Krakow
There is a church in the salt mine.
@Krakow
In Poland there are underground bakeries at most metro stations. Each bakery is tiny with no seats. These bakeries are oftentimes owned by middle-aged moms who handle all the work, while taking care of their kids at the same time.
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While some of these bakeries are not in great sanitary conditions, a lot of Poles buy from them on their way to work so I had no problem getting breakfasts from them as well.
@Gdansk
Live concert on the Baroque Organ. The performance is held at noon everyday at St. Anne’s Church and lasts for 30 minutes. The organist first introduces the performance to the audience, then walks upstairs to his organ to perform the Baroque pieces.
@Warsaw
Live concert on the Baroque Organ. The performance is held at noon everyday at St. Anne’s Church and lasts for 30 minutes. The organist first introduces the performance to the audience, then walks upstairs to his organ to perform the Baroque pieces.
@Warsaw
Sigismund’s Column. Riding a bike in this area was quite fun, except some the roads were very bumpy because of the bricks.
@Warsaw
Sigismund’s Column. Riding a bike in this area was quite fun, except some the roads were very bumpy because of the bricks.
@Warsaw
Sigismund’s Column. Riding a bike in this area was quite fun, except some the roads were very bumpy because of the bricks.
@Warsaw
I walked into a movie theatre hoping to watch a Polish movie, but I didn’t see anything too interesting / something that I would remotely understand. So I ended up watching Fast 8 (English in Polish subtitles).
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I was never a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise – I watched maybe 1 or 2 of the previous ones but never liked any of them much. But I have to say Fast 8 exceeded my expectation with good humor / storyline and some over-the-top action scenes.
@Gdansk
Palace of Culture and Science.
@Warsaw
Old Town Krakow.
@Krakow
Sigismund’s Column. Riding a bike in this area was quite fun, except some the roads were very bumpy because of the bricks.
@Warsaw
Kosciuszko Mound.
@Krakow
The Poles love dumplings! In a Polish restaurant you can easily find over 10 variations of dumplings with different meats and fruits.
@Gdansk
Museum of the Second World War, newly opened in March 2017.
WWII began when the Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. The 80 millions fatalities over the next 6 years made WWII the deadliest conflict in human history. The UN was established soon after to prevent another such conflict.
@Gdansk
Museum of the Second World War, newly opened in March 2017.
WWII began when the Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. The 80 millions fatalities over the next 6 years made WWII the deadliest conflict in human history. The UN was established soon after to prevent another such conflict.
@Gdansk
Schabowy (Polish pork bread cutlet).
@Krakow
What Old Town Warsaw looked like 200+ years ago.
@Warsaw
