Fun at work

I commute to work every day in a shuttle bus provided by Intel. Last week we had an evacuation drill. It was lots of fun. [That's my head sticking out the top of the bus window.]

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 ...

We are back

We are back from Japan. A short report will follow this weekend - longer reports to trickle out over the following weeks and month - but for now one photo taken at the Nagasaki Kunchi Festival.

The adults patiently await the Dragon Dancers but the children are just plain frightened.

Checking in from Japan

A short hello from Kanazawa, Japan using our new gear - the Nokia n800 and Asus access point - in our hotel room.

Just got back from the rooftop traditional Japanese bath. Great!

The most fascinating building in Shanghai

John and I have been pounding the streets in Shanghai looking for/at Art Deco buildings. We finally got around to seeing the Shanghai Municipal Slaughterhouse which we have known about for some time. Yet we were astounded by the magnificence of the place. Its sinister, bloody past added to its fascination.

The main building is fronted by an elegant art deco facade that spans 80 meters. All the slaughtering took place in the roundish building inside in the style of a Roman basilica. There are corrals everywhere for driving animals.

Across the street sits the imposing incinerator, a perfectly proportioned symmetrical building topped by two chimneys.

When originally built in 1933 this was the largest modern slaughterhouse in the Far East. In the days of the People's Republic, the building was first left unused (or continued as a slaughterhouse depending on which source you read), then manufactured pharmaceutical products, and then was storage for a hotel. Today it is being turned into an upscale shopping & entertainment area, under the name of "Shanghai Millfun 1933."

The wonderful young lady who showed us around said they have already signed up a couple of restaurants. As a vegetarian I am not sure I would be able to stomach food in a place where so many animals met their end and so much blood flowed. We also learned from her that this year's Design Week (starting 11/15) will be hosted by Millfun 1933.

There are supposed to be two other slaughterhouses like this, one in the UK and another in the US. I would love to find those and learn about their current incarnation.

Here are the photos.

The magnificent front facade.


The sturdy legs of the main entrance.


Interior ramps, corrals, and walkways.


The sinister incinerator.


An artist's rendition of Shanghai Millfun 1933 entertainment complex.


To see all the photos, click here.