Erin and Connor: Bath robes and whiskey, oh yeah!
My guests today are Erin Draycott and Connor Grill. They have both been living in Beijing for several years. I sat with Erin and Connor on the roof of their hutong apartment for a conversation about travel. We touched on many subjects, including their recent trip to Israel.
Let's listen to my podcast with Erin and Connor:
Download this Episode (right-click and choose “save as”)
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Show Notes:
- Connor briefly talked about WWOOFing. This stands for “Willing Workers on Organic Farms.” Their website has more info.
- I've never seen the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile in Beijing, but this clown duck guy comes pretty close. Just don't rear-end him or he'll be sad.
A sad clown.
- According to Wikipedia, the urban population of New York City is 8.5 million, whereas Harbin has 5.2 million, though it's hard to get an apples-to-big-apples comparison with city populations.
- During the podcast, I talked about how Ixonia got its name. Here is the story.
- Connor mentioned a quote from It's a Wonderful Life: All you can take with you is that which you've given away.
- One of Connor's favorite books is Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Follow the link for more info.
- Banksy is a famous street artist. Here is his website. Connor and Erin saw a lot of his artwork on the wall in Palestine.
- If you feel like being depressed, you can read more about the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict.
- Here is how public school kids warm up before class in China:
- Erin mentioned nightmares and night terrors. Here is an article describing the difference.
- We talked ever-so-briefly about Jonestown in Guyana. Here is the fascinating story of this place.
- Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal, including other humans. This article from Wired has more info and a historical timeline.
- Mefloquine (AKA Larium) is the drug I took to prevent malaria. Here is one of the reviews of this drug from drugs.com: “I was prescribed to take 6 pills at once for treatment of malaria. Can't sleep, I keep having hallucinations when I close my eyes and can't focus when my eyes are open.” Yay malaria pills!
- Hans Rosling has helped change my mind about the world and our future. In the show, I mentioned that while some places are better off than others, there has never been a better time to be alive than now. Watch this video and tell me if you disagree:
- Gravity drops off with the square of the distance, which is part of the inverse square law. I accidentally said some gibberish instead of properly referencing this law. Around the World with Dan Perry regrets this error.
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Here are some of Connor and Erin's photos from Israel. Thanks for providing them!
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Here are a few of my photos from Harbin's Ice Festival:
The giant ice sculptures in Harbin, China.
The silhouetted icy Kremlin.
An ice slide.
An ice temple.
More photos from Harbin's Ice Festival
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And this is the view you'll get if you go to the top of Jing Shan Park in Beijing on a clear day:
Looking south, you get a great view of the Forbidden City.
Looking west.
Looking north, you can see more temples. The Olympic Park is far in the distance.