Photo of the Day

One of my photos was Photo of the Day at the The Shanghaiist.

japan videos

Here are all the Japan videos.

Boarding a Bullet Train

Riding the Bullet Train

Okuno-in Monks

Meiji Shrine 360

Kiyomizu Temple - Kyoto

Japan 2006 - Kyoto and Nara

Parts 4, 5, and 6 of the trip reports of Japan are over at http://meckleyearth.blogspot.com/.

All of the photos from Japan are on Flickr. Click here.

Preview of Kyoto and Nara:

Kyoto Imperial Palace Garden:


Himeji Castle


Nara: Temple Guardian:


Nara: Moon Viewing Fair procession

Japan 2006 - Part 3 - Tokyo - Asakusa to Shinjuku

Part 3 of the Japan trip is now up on meckleychina.

Here's a preview.

Tourists taking a modern rickshaw to see the sites in Asakusa district

Shinjuku at night.


The famous Japanese vending machines.

Japan 2006 - Part 2 - Mt. Koya to Tokyo

I have posted Part 2 of our Japan trip report over on meckleyearth. To only see the photos, click here.

A preview:

Rock garden at the Fukuchi-in, the temple/hotel where we stayed on Mt. Koya.


The food was tasty, the owner gracious, and the beer cold at this DIY teppanyaki restaurant in Tokyo.

My new babysitter

John and I got used to spend a lot of time together when we went to live in Jacksonville. I guess we felt we need to stick together in a new place.

Coming to Shanghai I felt an even greater need to stick with John all the time. Besides going our separate ways to work and the occasional team outings, we pretty much do everything together. However, I was going off to book group once a month and yoga weekly. I had uneasy feeling that I was leaving him behind to fend/entertain himself, even though I suspect he is happy that I am not around to order him around.

My one comfort has been that the digital camera we bought right before we came was the best investment ever. The thing really keeps John occupied and out of trouble, evident in his prolific bodies of work on flickr, blogger, and youtube.

Now, included in our new apartment is a single gym membership at the club right beside our building. John is automatically the winner in the family because of his recent visit to the emergency room. He can workout there up to three times a week -- he is averaging one :( The important thing is that it's comforting for me to know that he is busy working out at the gym when I am at yoga or bookgroup.

Our new apartment

It has been a long time since I was able to sit down and write for our blog, because
- Moving and settling into our new apartment took quite a bit of efforts
- We tried to catch the last of the fine Fall weather doing things outside (walking around the town & traveling outside the town) before we hibernate for the winter
- We had a few visitors (work & personal) from the US
- We went away for New Year to catch some warmer air

I am sitting down writing, because
- About ten days ago an earthquake in Taiwan took down major communication cables making it impossible (at first) and painfully slow (then) to surf US sites from China.
- My heal spur needs a break
- Trip planning for Chinese New Year is stalled. I am disgusted with the outrageous airfares.

Therefore, I am writing from our not so new apartment. The first thing I want to report is that this apartment is warmer than our previous one. Why? Here are a few theories
- This building is a few years older than the previous one which means the concrete has had more time to dry.
- Our unit is in the middle instead of on the end.
- The windows and doors are heavier -- I have not yet heard the wind howl.
- It is a warmer winter than the last over all.

In China when you buy a new apartment, townhouse, or even single family house, most of the times it means you are buying a concrete box. You end up hiring your own construction crew to finish the place the rest of way. John's bus stop narrowed our search to this complex and the complex across the street. The one across the street is newer and more upscale -- their units are semi-finished. But for me, seeing the same bathrooms and kitchens, unit after unit, reminded me of mass produced subdivisions in the States; besides I didn't come across a unit with a particularly good view.

I like the view from our apartment. We are on the 11th floor overlooking a busy intersection - one of the top 5 busiest intersections in Shanghai says John. The street noise can be very annoying. There is a lot of beeping (horn blowing) during rush hour. John jokes that those drivers really give him an urge to acquire a gun and use it. Even then I still like our apartment. Maybe it reminds me how I grew up -- on a busy street corner.

The other bad thing about this apartment is that the kitchen counters are designed for the shorter Chinese people. They are 3 inches lower. John likes to complain about it when he is doing the dishes on the weekend. It's a good thing that we have an Ayi (maid) during the week.

In any case, we now have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. We can easily put up guests -- hint, hint -- unless our landlord sells the apartment. Just when I felt we were settled in, I got a call from our landlady saying that they want to sell the place and we need to show the apartment for her. It took me by complete surprise. Later it found out that they paid 3,500,000 RMB at the peak of the real estate boom a couple of years ago. They don't expect to get all of that back, but they won't sell below 3,000,000 RMB. Now I am really thinking we got a good deal going, considering our rent is 7000 RMB. Real estate is really overpriced in Shanghai. If you were not in it before the boom, you are pretty much out of luck. Prices have come down some. I don't know what they will do, but I know 3,000,000 is a lot.

Footnote: In the 6 weeks since the landlady first called about selling the apartment, only one person has actually looked.

Thanks for reading.

Japan 2006 - Part 1 - Fukuoka and Mt. Koya

I've posted Part 1 of our Oct trip to Japan over at meckleychina. To go right to the photos, click here.

Two fellow Mt. Koya pilgrims with nifty rain gear.

Nanjing, China - 2006

In September, we spent a weekend in Nanjing, China and enjoyed it immensely. If you want to go directly to the photos, click here. Most have good titles and descriptions. Otherwise, you can read the full trip report by clicking here.

Preview: Looking up to Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum from the "preferred" photo location.