The Styrofoam loads are common. Every expat has a photo. The ice load is unusual. That guy was really struggling.
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Loaded
Three-wheeled bicycles are used to haul anything and everything in China. In the past month we've seen a few real loads.
The Styrofoam loads are common. Every expat has a photo. The ice load is unusual. That guy was really struggling.
The Styrofoam loads are common. Every expat has a photo. The ice load is unusual. That guy was really struggling.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Going to the dentist
I just got back from the dentist. My third time in the chair since we've been in China.
My insurance from Intel covers dental up to about 100 USD per year. You don't actually pick a dentist, but a dental clinic. When I looked on the list of approved dental clinics, there was one called iMD located about 10 minutes walk from our apartment. The first visit I brought Sun-Ling with me, but since then I've been back twice by myself with no problems.
So on Tuesday of this week I called up iMD and requested for an appointment on Friday at 10AM with Dr Wang, the dentist I had on my second visit who speaks English, does a good job, and has a sense of humor. I reminded them that I have GBG insurance since for some unknown reason they need to have a GBG specialist in the office during my visit to process the paperwork. I found that out last visit. OK. I'm in.
So today, I arrived right at 10AM. They had my file ready, asked to make a copy of my insurance card and ID, and had me fill out the patient section of the insurance claim form. The usual kind of claim form with a teeth diagram, and lots questions about dependents, dates, policy numbers, etc.
Dr Wang goes by the English name of King Wang which is slightly humorous if you speak Chinese since wang means king. So he's King King. I told you he had a good sense of humor. Also, Elvis is called Mao Wang in Chinese which translates to Cat King which makes a lot of sense if you are old enough to remember 1950's hipster lingo.
I walked back to a bay, they don't have rooms, and sat in the chair. A smiling Dr Wang asked "How can I help you today?" "Please clean my teeth" I replied.
In China the dentist does all the work, while the assistant only adjusts suction, spray, etc. This clinic uses ultrasound to clean the teeth.
The cleaning, flossing, and polishing took about 30 minutes. King Wang reminded me to floss every day which I already do. I took my chart up to reception and paid the 19 RMB Co-pay (about 3 USD). Then I asked for a copy of my records, which are in Chinese. And I got them to put a copy of my panorex on my USB disc. See below. I was back home at 11.
My insurance from Intel covers dental up to about 100 USD per year. You don't actually pick a dentist, but a dental clinic. When I looked on the list of approved dental clinics, there was one called iMD located about 10 minutes walk from our apartment. The first visit I brought Sun-Ling with me, but since then I've been back twice by myself with no problems.
So on Tuesday of this week I called up iMD and requested for an appointment on Friday at 10AM with Dr Wang, the dentist I had on my second visit who speaks English, does a good job, and has a sense of humor. I reminded them that I have GBG insurance since for some unknown reason they need to have a GBG specialist in the office during my visit to process the paperwork. I found that out last visit. OK. I'm in.
So today, I arrived right at 10AM. They had my file ready, asked to make a copy of my insurance card and ID, and had me fill out the patient section of the insurance claim form. The usual kind of claim form with a teeth diagram, and lots questions about dependents, dates, policy numbers, etc.
Dr Wang goes by the English name of King Wang which is slightly humorous if you speak Chinese since wang means king. So he's King King. I told you he had a good sense of humor. Also, Elvis is called Mao Wang in Chinese which translates to Cat King which makes a lot of sense if you are old enough to remember 1950's hipster lingo.
I walked back to a bay, they don't have rooms, and sat in the chair. A smiling Dr Wang asked "How can I help you today?" "Please clean my teeth" I replied.
In China the dentist does all the work, while the assistant only adjusts suction, spray, etc. This clinic uses ultrasound to clean the teeth.
The cleaning, flossing, and polishing took about 30 minutes. King Wang reminded me to floss every day which I already do. I took my chart up to reception and paid the 19 RMB Co-pay (about 3 USD). Then I asked for a copy of my records, which are in Chinese. And I got them to put a copy of my panorex on my USB disc. See below. I was back home at 11.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Moving on
John just had a BIG birthday. We decided it's time to start the next phase of our adventure. We are quitting the tech world. The plan is to work in Shanghai until the end of the year. After the new year, we will head south to travel in southern China and northern SE Asia. When it gets too hot to run around, we will retreat to our house in Raleigh. In the fall we will come out to travel again for 6-9 months. We have no idea of how long and how much traveling it will take to get rid of this travel bug ...
Monday, September 03, 2007
"Broken China: A dysfunctional nation"
Recently I came across a very insightful article on the Internet: Broken China: A dysfunctional nation.
Now that we have been here for almost two years, we have a better picture of China. We would like to see her having a brighter future. However, there are many things that bother us and puzzle us. This article does a better job of explaining this than we could ever do ourselves.
Now that we have been here for almost two years, we have a better picture of China. We would like to see her having a brighter future. However, there are many things that bother us and puzzle us. This article does a better job of explaining this than we could ever do ourselves.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Taiji mania
True to footage seen on TV and photos in National Geographic, morning exercise goes on in every nook and cranny in China. Our neighborhood is no exception. In fact it takes place right in front of our building. John has to dodge taiji swords and fists every morning in order to make it to his bus.
I had been wanting to get into taiji ever since we came to Shanghai. When we moved to Xujiahui in October, I didn't feel I could brave the winter mornings. So when I got word that a new class was starting after the first Full Moon (beginning of March), I was all ready.
The first couple of weeks, classes started at 7. Then it was 7:30, which was not a problem since John gets up at 6:50 for his 7:30 bus.
The problem was that class seemed really fast for me. From beginning of March to mid April (when we left for our US visit), we went through a 24-move set, 88-move set, and a 52-move fan set! Classes take place Monday thru Saturday everyday for about one hour. When I slept in on Saturdays or when we went on weekend trips, I end up studying with videos. So, for a month and half, all my spare time was devoted to studying taiji, first thing when I get up and last thing before I go to bed.
I found I really like taiji. With yoga, I only manage to put in time, not posture. Compared to my elderly classmates, I do relatively well in taiji. Only relatively. Much to my surprise, taiji is hard work, not the mere arm-waving-in-slow-motion as I initially expected. It's really hard on the kneels; I cannot kick; I cannot squat low enough. And it takes a lot of concentration; it's meditative; the fan and 88-move make my heart beat! I can already tell my taiji sessions will be one of the highlights of our Shanghai experience.
Here's the view from our apartment balcony of Sun-Ling's taiji class. She is at far right in green top.
I had been wanting to get into taiji ever since we came to Shanghai. When we moved to Xujiahui in October, I didn't feel I could brave the winter mornings. So when I got word that a new class was starting after the first Full Moon (beginning of March), I was all ready.
The first couple of weeks, classes started at 7. Then it was 7:30, which was not a problem since John gets up at 6:50 for his 7:30 bus.
The problem was that class seemed really fast for me. From beginning of March to mid April (when we left for our US visit), we went through a 24-move set, 88-move set, and a 52-move fan set! Classes take place Monday thru Saturday everyday for about one hour. When I slept in on Saturdays or when we went on weekend trips, I end up studying with videos. So, for a month and half, all my spare time was devoted to studying taiji, first thing when I get up and last thing before I go to bed.
I found I really like taiji. With yoga, I only manage to put in time, not posture. Compared to my elderly classmates, I do relatively well in taiji. Only relatively. Much to my surprise, taiji is hard work, not the mere arm-waving-in-slow-motion as I initially expected. It's really hard on the kneels; I cannot kick; I cannot squat low enough. And it takes a lot of concentration; it's meditative; the fan and 88-move make my heart beat! I can already tell my taiji sessions will be one of the highlights of our Shanghai experience.
Here's the view from our apartment balcony of Sun-Ling's taiji class. She is at far right in green top.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Fujian, China - Part 1 - Shanghai to Quanzhou
We had such a good trip to Southeastern China last New Year's holiday that we decided to return this year to visit Quanzhou and Xiamen in Fujian Province. Read Part 1 of the story at meckleyearth
The highlight of our first day in Quanzhou was the mosque, built about 1000 AD in the Persian style, and modeled after a mosque in Damascus. It’s the first Mosque we’ve seen in China that was not Chinese architecture.
For all the photos of day one click here.
And here is video of our bicycle rickshaw ride.
The highlight of our first day in Quanzhou was the mosque, built about 1000 AD in the Persian style, and modeled after a mosque in Damascus. It’s the first Mosque we’ve seen in China that was not Chinese architecture.
For all the photos of day one click here.
And here is video of our bicycle rickshaw ride.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Clothes make a person?!
While foreign banks are permitted to operate in China, a minimum of 100,000 RMB is required to open an account with any foreign bank in order to protect domestic banks from......
On the ground floor of our apartment building there are several foreign banks. In keeping with our laid back approach to personal finance management, we never bothered to pay them a visit, though I walk by them everyday.
One day, after coming home from a trip, I saw two employees from the Heng Seng Bank standing outside handing out folders that looked like info packets. I got curious. I tried to catch their eyes as I approached, but nothing happened.
After a shower and a change of clothes, I headed back out. The two were still standing outside. However, they spotted me this time and called out. I immediately concluded that I was snubbed the first time around. I walked on by without looking at them. One proceeded to run after me....
I was rather baffled by the whole thing. Presumably these guys are judging everyone that walks by and putting them into 2 categories: Those who may have 100K RMB to invest and those who don't.
Chinese are big suckers for brand name products, particularly clothing and accessories. There are recent books with in-depth studies on this phenomena. When I walked by them the first time, I had on a Columbia windbreaker, Esprit jeans, and Italian boots from LL Bean. The second time, I had on a Jones New York tweed jacket, Docker khakis, and Tommy Hilfiger loafers. The first outfit had bigger names and more expensive items. I thought that would put me in the "may have 100K RMB" category. But no.
So, some possible reasons for "the snub" [edited by John].
1) Has nothing to do with clothes. The second time I was leaving an "up-scale" apartment complex.
2) Windbreakers and boots are not worn by those who have 100K RMB to invest.
3) Tommy is cooler than Esprit.
4) They were randomly snubbing some people who "may make over 100K RMB" just to have some fun.
On the ground floor of our apartment building there are several foreign banks. In keeping with our laid back approach to personal finance management, we never bothered to pay them a visit, though I walk by them everyday.
One day, after coming home from a trip, I saw two employees from the Heng Seng Bank standing outside handing out folders that looked like info packets. I got curious. I tried to catch their eyes as I approached, but nothing happened.
After a shower and a change of clothes, I headed back out. The two were still standing outside. However, they spotted me this time and called out. I immediately concluded that I was snubbed the first time around. I walked on by without looking at them. One proceeded to run after me....
I was rather baffled by the whole thing. Presumably these guys are judging everyone that walks by and putting them into 2 categories: Those who may have 100K RMB to invest and those who don't.
Chinese are big suckers for brand name products, particularly clothing and accessories. There are recent books with in-depth studies on this phenomena. When I walked by them the first time, I had on a Columbia windbreaker, Esprit jeans, and Italian boots from LL Bean. The second time, I had on a Jones New York tweed jacket, Docker khakis, and Tommy Hilfiger loafers. The first outfit had bigger names and more expensive items. I thought that would put me in the "may have 100K RMB" category. But no.
So, some possible reasons for "the snub" [edited by John].
1) Has nothing to do with clothes. The second time I was leaving an "up-scale" apartment complex.
2) Windbreakers and boots are not worn by those who have 100K RMB to invest.
3) Tommy is cooler than Esprit.
4) They were randomly snubbing some people who "may make over 100K RMB" just to have some fun.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Vegetarian in Shanghai
Being vegetarian in Shanghai is both easy and hard. It is easy because of the amazing varieties of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains along with many forms of soy and wheat. Walk in any good size supermarket and the produce section makes Whole Foods seem ordinary. In addition there are "wet markets" - a lot like "farmer's markets" in the US - on every block. Finally there are mega markets, much like Super Walmarts, that have "imported foods" sections and even "bulk" sections. For posterity, the current megamarts are:
-Carrefour (French)
-Metro (the German company Metro AG is the world's 3rd biggest commercial company)
-LianHua (Shanghaiese)
However, since I don't have an oven, my repertoire becomes limited. In addition to the usual Chinese stir fry and soy sauce bruise, I made spaghetti regularly. A coworker's recent trip to Thailand added red and green curries. When I find tortilla chips in the stores - usually imported from Mexico - I make salsa for microwave nachos. [John's comment: Sun-Ling is quite modest. Her "usual Chinese stir fry" is usually astoundingly delicious and while the variety doesn't change much day-to-day, the change from season to season is significant.]
Eating out is an entirely a different matter. There are half a dozen "pure" vegetarian (no eggs, no dairy) restaurants in Shanghai. We used to frequent them until we (mostly me) got tired of Chinese food and Chinese restaurants. The other problem (mostly John) is that they are so pure that they don't serve beer. Now we seem to eat out only at overpriced restaurants that serve Western food. For posterity I list them here.
-"Element Fresh" - Western breakfast
-"Zentral" - Cold sandwiches
-"Blue Moon Dinner" - great fries, tofu burger, and Soda Fountain Coke
-"Blue Frog" - veggie burger
-"Kraze Burger" - OK fries and tomato/mozzarella sandwich from this Korean chain
-"Gino's" - Great veggie pesto pizza with olives and pineapple - our fav
-"Travel Coffee" - Mushrooms and gluten with rice
-"Henry's Microbrewery and Grill" - Great beer! - ho hum food - good fries
-"The Commune" - Sandwiches & coffee on Taikang Rd
-"Demarco's" - Wood oven pizza
-"New Heights" - great view
-"M on the Bund" - not if I'm paying!
Also we eat at various ethnic restaurants; some foreign and some Chinese.
-Thai - Several - only OK.
-Vietnamese - So-so.
-Xinjiang - Several good Xinjiang style restaurants near our apartment - one with singing and dancing - Xinjiang dark beer is tasty
-Turkish - "Thousand and One Nights" - great spicy salads
-Japanese - "Ichiban" - Just around the corner and very vegetarian friendly
-Italian - "That's Amore" - authentic
And street food.......too many to name.
When we eat out with family and coworkers, it's usually at huge and loud Chinese restaurants. Chinese people enjoy a lively and bright environment for eating, as supposed to the subdued and dimmed places in the west. It goes without saying that we always eat family style although recently "personal" hot pot restaurants are in. This means that we sometimes must eat around the meat and not worry about what's in the liquid, that is if we choose to not go hungry or appear extremely unsociable.
Conclusion: Being vegetarian in Shanghai is both easy and hard, loud and quiet, family and personal, eat in and eat out, local and foreign, cheap and expensive, and usually pretty darn tasty. [can you tell that John wrote this last sentence? ;-)]
-Carrefour (French)
-Metro (the German company Metro AG is the world's 3rd biggest commercial company)
-LianHua (Shanghaiese)
However, since I don't have an oven, my repertoire becomes limited. In addition to the usual Chinese stir fry and soy sauce bruise, I made spaghetti regularly. A coworker's recent trip to Thailand added red and green curries. When I find tortilla chips in the stores - usually imported from Mexico - I make salsa for microwave nachos. [John's comment: Sun-Ling is quite modest. Her "usual Chinese stir fry" is usually astoundingly delicious and while the variety doesn't change much day-to-day, the change from season to season is significant.]
Eating out is an entirely a different matter. There are half a dozen "pure" vegetarian (no eggs, no dairy) restaurants in Shanghai. We used to frequent them until we (mostly me) got tired of Chinese food and Chinese restaurants. The other problem (mostly John) is that they are so pure that they don't serve beer. Now we seem to eat out only at overpriced restaurants that serve Western food. For posterity I list them here.
-"Element Fresh" - Western breakfast
-"Zentral" - Cold sandwiches
-"Blue Moon Dinner" - great fries, tofu burger, and Soda Fountain Coke
-"Blue Frog" - veggie burger
-"Kraze Burger" - OK fries and tomato/mozzarella sandwich from this Korean chain
-"Gino's" - Great veggie pesto pizza with olives and pineapple - our fav
-"Travel Coffee" - Mushrooms and gluten with rice
-"Henry's Microbrewery and Grill" - Great beer! - ho hum food - good fries
-"The Commune" - Sandwiches & coffee on Taikang Rd
-"Demarco's" - Wood oven pizza
-"New Heights" - great view
-"M on the Bund" - not if I'm paying!
Also we eat at various ethnic restaurants; some foreign and some Chinese.
-Thai - Several - only OK.
-Vietnamese - So-so.
-Xinjiang - Several good Xinjiang style restaurants near our apartment - one with singing and dancing - Xinjiang dark beer is tasty
-Turkish - "Thousand and One Nights" - great spicy salads
-Japanese - "Ichiban" - Just around the corner and very vegetarian friendly
-Italian - "That's Amore" - authentic
And street food.......too many to name.
When we eat out with family and coworkers, it's usually at huge and loud Chinese restaurants. Chinese people enjoy a lively and bright environment for eating, as supposed to the subdued and dimmed places in the west. It goes without saying that we always eat family style although recently "personal" hot pot restaurants are in. This means that we sometimes must eat around the meat and not worry about what's in the liquid, that is if we choose to not go hungry or appear extremely unsociable.
Conclusion: Being vegetarian in Shanghai is both easy and hard, loud and quiet, family and personal, eat in and eat out, local and foreign, cheap and expensive, and usually pretty darn tasty. [can you tell that John wrote this last sentence? ;-)]
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Chinese New Year - Fireworks
Here's some video of the Chinese New Year's Eve fireworks.
The first is the view from our back balcony into the apartment courtyard. The second is the view out to the street. Hope they convey some of the noise, excitement, visuals, and fun of Chinese New Year in Shanghai.
The first is the view from our back balcony into the apartment courtyard. The second is the view out to the street. Hope they convey some of the noise, excitement, visuals, and fun of Chinese New Year in Shanghai.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Chinese New Year - Feb 23, 2007
The next to last day of the holiday. Many pigs were spotted. See the end of this post.
The weathernet promised clear skies and temps in the high 50's so about 11:00 AM we set off for Hongkou District where Sun-Ling grew up for some historic building viewing.
We hopped on bus #10, almost right in front of our apartment, which took us all the way to Lu Xun park in Hongkou. On the way we got a good look at Huai Hai Lu, People's Park, and North Sichuan Lu.
Pre-1939, the Hongkuo district had lots of residential housing - it was not a commercial district. There were many villas like these. You could almost imagine you were in Europe.
And many townhouses like these.
The weather was pleasant and old folks were soaking in the rays on Duolun Rd.
On Duolun Rd - the only church in Shanghai built in Chinese style architecture.
There were many cinema's in this district. Here's one, the International Cinema on Haining Lu.
417 Zhapu Lu - at the corner of Haining Lu. Sun-Ling's childhood home. Her family lived on the 3rd floor of the building at center right with the orange and blue first floor exterior. Their "space" also included the rooftop of the beige building next door which now has a small shed.
There was an historic movie theatre across the street; however, it no longer functions as a movie theatre, but is divided into an Internet Cafe, a disco, and several restaurants. The original facade is obscured by signage.
At the other end of the block was this fire station which is still used today - I think.
We stopped at Mr Pizza - almost underneath Sun-Ling's old home, for a veggie pizza. Later we stopped at the New Asia Hotel for a couple of Iced Coffees. Crossed Suzhou Creek, walked along the Bund, and rode the subway home.
There are a number of major historic buildings on the North side of Suzhou creek. We checked out all the ones in the photos below, including a quick peek in each lobby.
The Post Office, were Sun-Ling bought stamps for her stamp collection.
The Astor Hotel - since 1846.
Broadway Mansions Hotel and Waibaidu Bridge.
And some different views of the Pudong skyline. Well, the Pearl Tower remains the same but at least the foreground is different. ;-)
Ceramic pigs.
Hanging Pigs.
Giant Papercut Pigs.
more pig
and more pigs
The weathernet promised clear skies and temps in the high 50's so about 11:00 AM we set off for Hongkou District where Sun-Ling grew up for some historic building viewing.
We hopped on bus #10, almost right in front of our apartment, which took us all the way to Lu Xun park in Hongkou. On the way we got a good look at Huai Hai Lu, People's Park, and North Sichuan Lu.
Pre-1939, the Hongkuo district had lots of residential housing - it was not a commercial district. There were many villas like these. You could almost imagine you were in Europe.
And many townhouses like these.
The weather was pleasant and old folks were soaking in the rays on Duolun Rd.
On Duolun Rd - the only church in Shanghai built in Chinese style architecture.
There were many cinema's in this district. Here's one, the International Cinema on Haining Lu.
417 Zhapu Lu - at the corner of Haining Lu. Sun-Ling's childhood home. Her family lived on the 3rd floor of the building at center right with the orange and blue first floor exterior. Their "space" also included the rooftop of the beige building next door which now has a small shed.
There was an historic movie theatre across the street; however, it no longer functions as a movie theatre, but is divided into an Internet Cafe, a disco, and several restaurants. The original facade is obscured by signage.
At the other end of the block was this fire station which is still used today - I think.
We stopped at Mr Pizza - almost underneath Sun-Ling's old home, for a veggie pizza. Later we stopped at the New Asia Hotel for a couple of Iced Coffees. Crossed Suzhou Creek, walked along the Bund, and rode the subway home.
There are a number of major historic buildings on the North side of Suzhou creek. We checked out all the ones in the photos below, including a quick peek in each lobby.
The Post Office, were Sun-Ling bought stamps for her stamp collection.
The Astor Hotel - since 1846.
Broadway Mansions Hotel and Waibaidu Bridge.
And some different views of the Pudong skyline. Well, the Pearl Tower remains the same but at least the foreground is different. ;-)
Ceramic pigs.
Hanging Pigs.
Giant Papercut Pigs.
more pig
and more pigs
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Chinese New Year - Feb 22, 2007
A slower pace.
The fireworks and firecrackers kept us up past 1:00 AM. Sun-Ling was up early. I dozed until 9 or so.
With no real plan for the day, we had some breakfast and watched the weather. When it looked like the sun might come out, I headed to Lian Hua Rd Metro station to try to shoot a photo of the new CRH bullet train as it came through. Sun-ling headed to IKEA to buy some some food.
Limited success for me as one train came by from the north at 1:41 and one from the south at 1:52. It's hard to get a good photo of a bullet. ;-)
This bullet train, known as the CRH (China Railway High-speed), from Shanghai to Hangzhou, is actually two bullet trains hooked together as you can see in this series of "coming", "joined in the middle" and "going" photos.
Coming towards you.
Two joined in the middle.
Going away.
We met at home around 2:30 and set out again at 3:00 for more historic architecture viewing. Ho hum. Not much cool stuff today.
Here's one apartment building that caught my eye on XinHua Lu.
One of the historic villas, 483 XinHua Rd is now the Hai Fei Xuan tea house. Good place for a break. Sun-Ling had a Mango Milkshake and John had a Coffee Ice Cream Snowy (like a milk shake).
Here's the historic villa.
Check out the bird carved from melon rind in SL's shake.
Rode bus 946 home. Dinner at home. Watched movie "A Sigh" by the Chinese director Feng Xiaogang. Pretty good.
Pig of the Day.
The fireworks and firecrackers kept us up past 1:00 AM. Sun-Ling was up early. I dozed until 9 or so.
With no real plan for the day, we had some breakfast and watched the weather. When it looked like the sun might come out, I headed to Lian Hua Rd Metro station to try to shoot a photo of the new CRH bullet train as it came through. Sun-ling headed to IKEA to buy some some food.
Limited success for me as one train came by from the north at 1:41 and one from the south at 1:52. It's hard to get a good photo of a bullet. ;-)
This bullet train, known as the CRH (China Railway High-speed), from Shanghai to Hangzhou, is actually two bullet trains hooked together as you can see in this series of "coming", "joined in the middle" and "going" photos.
Coming towards you.
Two joined in the middle.
Going away.
We met at home around 2:30 and set out again at 3:00 for more historic architecture viewing. Ho hum. Not much cool stuff today.
Here's one apartment building that caught my eye on XinHua Lu.
One of the historic villas, 483 XinHua Rd is now the Hai Fei Xuan tea house. Good place for a break. Sun-Ling had a Mango Milkshake and John had a Coffee Ice Cream Snowy (like a milk shake).
Here's the historic villa.
Check out the bird carved from melon rind in SL's shake.
Rode bus 946 home. Dinner at home. Watched movie "A Sigh" by the Chinese director Feng Xiaogang. Pretty good.
Pig of the Day.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Chinese New Year - Feb 21
Year of the Pig: Day 4.
Plan: Forecast says a clearish day so we'll do another DIY walking your of historic buildings. Then, since it's the eve of the 5th day of the new year, we will stay up for midnight fireworks which traditionally welcome the God of Fortune/Wealth. These fireworks will rival the New Year's Eve fireworks in intensity but not duration.
Once again the Metro was full of people with gift bags and baskets. Here's a shot I took while waiting to get on the train in the Xujiahui Station. Notice the big glass doors/barriers for safety and crowd control.
Another nice winter day. Old folks were sitting in the sun. This lady was looking for a good spot to catch some rays.
We wandered around looking at old buildings. Actually it's not wandering. Sun-Ling has done some great research.
Some "soon to be renovated" historic apartments on Jianguo Rd.
The doorway of the Anting Apartments.
Greenish pre-1949 modernista home.
We popped into an antique store and bought a table for our apartment -- 100 RMB including delivery.
Stopped in Senses restaurant for a latte and cappuccino.
We ended up near Sun-Ling's Grandfather's (on father's side) younger sister's house. We call her Little Grandma. And after a call to Ma to get the exact street, we stopped in. Little Grandma's daughter and son-in-law were there and we had a good visit with lots of snacks: pistachios, tangerines, candied walnuts, candied hickory nuts, Picnic candy bars from Australia, various seeds, and hot tea. Forgot to take a group photo.
Just around the corner from Little Grandma's house was this meat shop.
Took a taxi home.
The fireworks were again more than awesome. The restaurant across the street let off a barrage. And our neighbors in the courtyard made some of the loudest noise I've ever heard. Wow!
I've been experimenting with my camera settings in an attempt to get some better fireworks shots.
From our courtyard balcony.
From our Nandan Rd balcony.
Towards Gateway Towers.
Pigs of the Day.
Plan: Forecast says a clearish day so we'll do another DIY walking your of historic buildings. Then, since it's the eve of the 5th day of the new year, we will stay up for midnight fireworks which traditionally welcome the God of Fortune/Wealth. These fireworks will rival the New Year's Eve fireworks in intensity but not duration.
Once again the Metro was full of people with gift bags and baskets. Here's a shot I took while waiting to get on the train in the Xujiahui Station. Notice the big glass doors/barriers for safety and crowd control.
Another nice winter day. Old folks were sitting in the sun. This lady was looking for a good spot to catch some rays.
We wandered around looking at old buildings. Actually it's not wandering. Sun-Ling has done some great research.
Some "soon to be renovated" historic apartments on Jianguo Rd.
The doorway of the Anting Apartments.
Greenish pre-1949 modernista home.
We popped into an antique store and bought a table for our apartment -- 100 RMB including delivery.
Stopped in Senses restaurant for a latte and cappuccino.
We ended up near Sun-Ling's Grandfather's (on father's side) younger sister's house. We call her Little Grandma. And after a call to Ma to get the exact street, we stopped in. Little Grandma's daughter and son-in-law were there and we had a good visit with lots of snacks: pistachios, tangerines, candied walnuts, candied hickory nuts, Picnic candy bars from Australia, various seeds, and hot tea. Forgot to take a group photo.
Just around the corner from Little Grandma's house was this meat shop.
Took a taxi home.
The fireworks were again more than awesome. The restaurant across the street let off a barrage. And our neighbors in the courtyard made some of the loudest noise I've ever heard. Wow!
I've been experimenting with my camera settings in an attempt to get some better fireworks shots.
From our courtyard balcony.
From our Nandan Rd balcony.
Towards Gateway Towers.
Pigs of the Day.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Chinese New Year - Feb 20
Today is the 3rd day of the Year of the Pig. The plan: Lunch with Sun-Ling's father's relatives. Try to shoot a photo of the new CRH bullet train. Catch the new 007 movie with Sun-Ling's nephews. Dinner out.
Made it to the 11:30 lunch on time today. Again, most people on the Metro were carrying a gift bag or basket. I managed to sneak a shot.
There were two tables for today's banquet. Eating. Talking. Toasting. Etc.
Packing the leftovers. Grandmother and Beckham. Who knows?
The lunch lasted until 1:30 so I missed my chance to photograph the CRH train. Maybe tomorrow.
We rode the Metro back to XuJiaHui. Sun-Ling's father's older brother, his children and grandchildren, who were all at lunch, met us at our apartment.
Father's older brother's family.
After a short visit, we took the two grandchildren - boys ages 16 and 15 - to see the new 007 movie, Casino Royale, which we all liked. Chinese refer to Casino Royale as the new "007" (ling ling chi) movie, not the new "James Bond" movie. I guess the numbers are easier to pronounce.
Gino's was the next stop for lasagna, spaghetti, and pizza; finally put the boys on the Metro about 8:30 PM. They are good eaters. Good kids.
Pigs of the Day.
Hapig New Year ;-) poster seen in at Gino's bakery.
From a poster in a bank.
Made it to the 11:30 lunch on time today. Again, most people on the Metro were carrying a gift bag or basket. I managed to sneak a shot.
There were two tables for today's banquet. Eating. Talking. Toasting. Etc.
Packing the leftovers. Grandmother and Beckham. Who knows?
The lunch lasted until 1:30 so I missed my chance to photograph the CRH train. Maybe tomorrow.
We rode the Metro back to XuJiaHui. Sun-Ling's father's older brother, his children and grandchildren, who were all at lunch, met us at our apartment.
Father's older brother's family.
After a short visit, we took the two grandchildren - boys ages 16 and 15 - to see the new 007 movie, Casino Royale, which we all liked. Chinese refer to Casino Royale as the new "007" (ling ling chi) movie, not the new "James Bond" movie. I guess the numbers are easier to pronounce.
Gino's was the next stop for lasagna, spaghetti, and pizza; finally put the boys on the Metro about 8:30 PM. They are good eaters. Good kids.
Pigs of the Day.
Hapig New Year ;-) poster seen in at Gino's bakery.
From a poster in a bank.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Chinese New Year - Feb 19
The weather forecast was for clear skies. No family activities were planned So our plan for the day was to check out some of the historic buildings in Shanghai on a DIY walking tour.
First stop was at Gateway Towers to buy tickets for tomorrow's 4:30 showing of the latest 007 movie. We are taking Sun-Ling's nephews (the sons of two of her cousins). While waiting for SL to buy the tickets I took this shot of the mall dome with the red lanterns.
As we walked along Huai Hai Lu in the Embassy/Consulate District, the streets seemed almost deserted. The even the normally kinetic street sweepers were relaxing.
The Consulate Guards were out for a walk on a winter's day.
The famous Normandie Apartments - at left.
The famous Empire Mansions (apartments).
24 Fuxing Xi Lu (Magy Apartment) faces the corner. A super Art Deco building. One of my new favorites.
Willow Court (apartments) - the yellow building at right-back.
We made two pit stops today. First at 1:30 for iced coffees, onion rings, fried noodles,and deep fried rice balls. And again about 4:30 for 2 coffee milkshakes. Yum!
Home at 5:30. SL made a tasty spicy Thai stir-fry.
Evening: I worked on uploading photos to Flickr and writing this post.Sun-Ling watched Million Dollar Baby. We were both interrupted several times by more fireworks in the courtyard. Fun!
Pigs of the Day.
McDonald's poster by a bus stop.
Poster on the door of a restaurant.
First stop was at Gateway Towers to buy tickets for tomorrow's 4:30 showing of the latest 007 movie. We are taking Sun-Ling's nephews (the sons of two of her cousins). While waiting for SL to buy the tickets I took this shot of the mall dome with the red lanterns.
As we walked along Huai Hai Lu in the Embassy/Consulate District, the streets seemed almost deserted. The even the normally kinetic street sweepers were relaxing.
The Consulate Guards were out for a walk on a winter's day.
The famous Normandie Apartments - at left.
The famous Empire Mansions (apartments).
24 Fuxing Xi Lu (Magy Apartment) faces the corner. A super Art Deco building. One of my new favorites.
Willow Court (apartments) - the yellow building at right-back.
We made two pit stops today. First at 1:30 for iced coffees, onion rings, fried noodles,and deep fried rice balls. And again about 4:30 for 2 coffee milkshakes. Yum!
Home at 5:30. SL made a tasty spicy Thai stir-fry.
Evening: I worked on uploading photos to Flickr and writing this post.Sun-Ling watched Million Dollar Baby. We were both interrupted several times by more fireworks in the courtyard. Fun!
Pigs of the Day.
McDonald's poster by a bus stop.
Poster on the door of a restaurant.
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