TBC students took the opportunity to travel throughout Asia this spring break! Whether they stayed in China or traveled out of the country to explore! This is a slight breakdown of their trips and some cities our 2018 Spring Students visited during the break!
Tyler L. (Le Moyne College 19’) – Thailand
Tyler went to Thailand on a small budget was able to make it work! His total budget was about $500 for his whole trip, and spent 7 days in Thailand! 2 nights in Bangkok, and 5 in Ao Nang/Krabi. Tyler has been quoted as saying, “I would definitely recommend this trip to someone on a lower budget, I even decided fly out of Tianjin, where it was a little cheaper than Beijing. I traveled alone but it was well worth every moment.” Read more about his trip here.
2. Brian V. (Gonzaga 19’) – Nanjing-> Hangzhou-> Shanghai
Brian and his Father traveled the “Three Cities Trip” which consisted of Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. He spent a week traveling China and sight-seeing the beautiful Chinese landscape. Brian even attributes this trip to helping his Chinese navigation and communicational skills! Brian’s trip was around $500 for his entire trip, including food and lodging throughout the week and his train rides!
3. Melissa C. (Loyola Chicago 19’) – Shanghai -> Seoul
Melissa spent her spring break in Shanghai and Seoul, South Korea! Melissa planned her trip about a month in advance before break helping her save big, she took a train to Shanghai for about $50, and her flight to Seoul and back was about $500, and she lodged in both cities for about $100 in total! Melissa traveled to Shanghai and Seoul by herself for a week!
4. Sabrina L. & Matthew C. (Loyola Chicago 19’ / Loyola Marymount 19’) Chengdu, Emeishan, Guilin, Hangzhou, Shanghai
Matthew and Sabrina went on an intense trip throughout their spring break spanning 8 days and 5 cities! The two together split lodging at about $450-500 each throughout the trip! The two were on the move constantly! The two rode trains go navigate throughout their trip, coming out to be about $100, the total of the trip coming out to $700 including food! Sabrina and Matthew are season travelers and this was a challenge even for them, but the trip can be easily abbreviated for a novice traveler!
5. Jessica V. ( Loyola Chicago 19′) Tokyo, Japan
Jessica took her break to Tokyo with her family after a couple of days in Beijing! Her round trip flight was $400, and spent the week in an AirBnB! Her total trip was about $500! She was able to enjoy authentic food, and all the ramen in the world during her time in Tokyo!
The past few weekends have been some of the most exciting of the entire semester, full of trips to the zoo, mountain hikes, ancient parks, and more! Our first trip out of many was a visit to the Beijing Zoo. I had mentioned earlier in the semester that I wanted to see some pandas, since I was in China after all, and our TBC friend Andy made it happen.
Spending a whole semester in Beijing, I knew I had to make the trip down south and check out Shanghai, and the city certainly lived up to the expectations. Everyone describes Shanghai as this super futuristic metropolis, and after spending a weekend there I understand why it has this reputation.