From Snow to Sun

Yesterday when we left Xi’an to go to Thailand for our company’s meetings, it was snowing. The first snow of the season. I’m thinking we timed that pretty well. ๐Ÿ™‚

We arrived in Thailand to beautiful sunny days and crisp nights. It appears that this year is the coldest winter in Thailand for many years. The locals have their coats on, and we foreigners have our shorts on. ๐Ÿ™‚

The location where we’re staying is beautiful, lots of greenery on the grounds in a surprisingly quiet neighborhood, right in the middle of a bustling Chiang Mai.

(Tamah, my sister, with Wendy at our hostel in Thailand)

We were able to coordinate our travels with my sister, who also teaches in China. It was great to be able to just relax in WARMTH for a few days!

Holiday Travel In China

Here’s a quote from the China Daily, one of the two English language newspapers published in China, on Jan. 4, 2012:

โ€œChina’s railways are expected to carry 235 million passengers during the coming Spring Festival travel season, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent, which means an average of nearly 5.9 million people will travel by rail every day. However, the average daily capacity of the country’s railway system is about 3.8 million.โ€

So how much room do you think thereโ€™s going to be on the trains in China during this holiday season? ๐Ÿ™‚