Oct 23, 2012 - Day 2 (of our trip) - Shanghai

The flight over was long (14 hours from Detroit), but uneventful. Our guide met us at the airport, took us into town on a high speed train (300 kph), and helped us check in at the hotel. We all slept fine and didn't seem to suffer from jet lag. Today (Tuesday) we were on our own, and we planned to walk to famous scenic places in Shanghai. We started with an enormous buffet breakfast which is much more varied and elaborate than a Sunday brunch at a fancy restaurant in the US. We all ate so much no one wanted lunch! We left the hotel about 9...

Oct 9, 2012 - Shanghai

Well that was an interesting evening - stayed in the Grand Hyatt in the Jin Mao tower, room on the 85th floor, lounge on the 83rd, dinner in a restaurant on the 54th followed by cocktails in "Cloud 9" on the 88th. Pushed my fear of heights to the absolute limit, not sure how my knees survived. Unfortunately we arrived at 7pm and had to leave at 5am this morning for an early flight so I only got night time views.

Oct 9, 2012 - the way home

On the flight from Shanghai to Seattle, peripheral chatter suddenly comes into focus. “I have some Wet Wipes.” “I remember two and half years ago…” “Everyone’s sitting down except for me. I’d better sit down.” Movies on the plane are in English, and the five I watched were the first thing I've seen in a month other than an episode of 30 Rock in the rice terrace village. Some sadness, letting go of my beginner’s mind to return to familiar language, and the complexity of our regular lives. But I have brought back an internal sense of...

Oct 4, 2012 - Shanghai

Shanghai reminds me a lot of New York, like Beijing – lots of high rise buildings and shopping malls, with all the expensive brands; Gucci, Tiffany’s, Burberry etc.. The city is really clean with so many cleaners around and every evening at 11pm they wash all the pedestrian paths with jet washers and this happens 364 days a year (except Chinese new year). Unfortunately although the city is clean it is quite smelly with all the different street food stalls and some pongy sewage smells from time to time probably doesn’t help every now and...

Oct 4, 2012 - Shanghai ... le Manhattan de l'Asie

Shanghai Nous arrivons à l'immense l'aéroport de Shanghai qui est la ville la plus peuplée de Chine avec 23 millions d'habitants. Nous prenons l'autobus jusqu'au terminus de train qui est tout près de notre hôtel. La ville de Shanghai est située sur la rivière Huangpu dont elle détient le titre de plus grand port mondial. La croissance de la ville de Shanghai au niveau des habitants de la région urbaine, la diversité des ethnies et son essor culturel l'appellent à devenir une métropole mondiale, aux côtés de New York, Londres ou Paris. La...

Sep 26, 2012 - eating and drinking

One evening after my work was done we walked to meet up with students from the program for hamburgers at the Blue Frog. During happy hour it’s two for one: two for one (fantastic) hamburgers and two for one drinks. The general contentment by the end of the meal was a beautiful thing. One of the students said, “I didn’t know what American food was until I noticed what I was craving.” I ordered a lychee martini and Mom liked it so much she drank the second of the two for one. The following evening we picked up our things from the fabric...

Sep 25, 2012 - the WC

What travel blog would be complete without an entry about toilets? Squatting v sitting: Advocates of squat toilets argue ergonomics, how the position enables complete evacuation, and avoids the potential for sitting on someone else’s urine. Sit down toilet devotees are more emotional. “It’s nicer.” “I like it better.” “It’s relaxing.” And the practical, “I can get up afterward.” Here in China people carry their own toilet tissues in little packets. The grocery store carries aisles and aisles of designs. (Interestingly, toilet tissues and...