If you like breathing, I'd stay away from Beijing. Was there. Couldn't breathe and didn't see the sky at all because of the haze. It got better before the Beijing Olympics, not sure what it's like now. Anyone?
Big fan. It's one of the most cited reasons why to not go, and it could be a deal-breaker for me. Like I said, I'm actually more interested in visiting SE Asia than Beijing, but that may be a pittance of an excuse to make the trip. Were you there for academic reasons?If you like breathing, I'd stay away from Beijing.
Actually yes. I presented a paper at a big HCI-I conference. The conference travels around the world and this year it will be in LA in August. August is a bad month to have been in Beijing. The temperatures are over 100 degrees F so that adds to the smog and pollution. I liked climbing up the Great Wall -- it was all fascinating and I'm glad I went, but I'm not a very good traveller. Not sure if that will change in my lifetime. But listen, if you have an uncle who is inviting you and if you can afford to get over there, do it. Explore, live. Be as under 30 as you like, now might be the time. When you say "sabbatical" what do you mean?
I appreciate all the feedback, seriously. It's potentially in June, so that seems a bit more my taste, weather-wise, and definitely not 100+. I'm leaning towards it, for sure, now definitely might be the time. Maybe I could even stop by Tokyo (that literally just occurred to me, holy shit). There's also the worry in the back of my head that, since he's so much more of a go-getter than I am, there might be expectations that I should accomplish something while there, professionally. And I honestly don't even know where I stand, in that regard. Sabbatical = quitting my job and fucking off for a bit, while (potentially) making future plans/choices. edit: okay, Tokyo is definitely not as doable as I thought....but I'm not a very good traveler.
Duly noted.