In my thoughts...

I literally can not get hot pots out of my mind. I am obsessed with them. I am searching all over the internet for the right equipment and the right spices to make my own hot pot here at home. My taste buds were changed on this trip, no doubt about it. I can honestly say that when I watch those favorite shows of mine about travel and weird foods, I feel like I could easily at least try them. Not saying I would enjoy them, but I would be open to putting them in my mouth and chew. And for those who know about it, yes, my quest for blood sausage is not over or diminished. I am tempted to go to DC this weekend to the restaurant there that I know for a fact makes them. Hmmm.....tempting indeed. But enough of that. I am still sorting through all the photos, getting rid of the bad ones, figuring out what ones will look great blown up on my wall, and which ones I should turn into National Geographic for their travel photo contest. But until I can post all of them on here (I hope to do that this weekend) I will keep my promise to the maybe three people still reading this, and post a few pics on here a day.

This is an ok pic artistically. But come on, you know I am saving the best artsy ones for the end! But this pic illustrates two great things about Chonqing. One, the real future of China is in this picture: Construction of towers. I can not even describe the amount of construction in Shanghai but especially in Chongqing. Watch out, these two cities will be amongest the biggest in the world both population wise and in area, very soon. Unofficially, Chongqing already is with about 40 million people. The second thing this shows is the haze. Some of it is pollution perhaps, but the city is famous for haze. It's what protected it from the Japanese bombers during World War II.


Again, the future of China. In general the future is construction. There is a joke, at least one I have read, that the official bird of Dubai should be the crane, as in construction crane, but I vote for China. About 10 years ago, The Yangzi apparently only had five bridges on its whole length. The Mississippi River, the fourth longest in the world, had 26. (Remember, the Yangzi is the 3rd longest) But as part of the building of the dam, they are also building a whole lot of bridges. This is only one. I would say we passed under about 15 under construction, with the same basic design on all of them. As my random Dutch friend who I met on the boat said, "you don't mess with the winning team." Meaning that in a communist country, they build bridges wherever they want and with the same design and if anyone complains, the local government official will just say "Never heard of them" when the family members ask why they have been missing for a month.


A statue in Fengdu, the so called ghost city. Of course, all the original statue's and temples were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Everything they took the tourist too was built in the last 15 years or so. I wasnt a fan of Fengdu, but it did allow me to take some more "faces of statues" pictures. I have a nice little series going when you add in all the statues in Richmond, and of course the infamous "Matt and KC posing next to random pieces of street art" pictures. Ah, good times indeed

And again, more photos...

Well, lets start today with a pic of the Three Gorges Dam. The biggest construction project in the world apparently. Its not the biggest dam, that one is in Egypt. So for all that was lost in the flooding created by this dam in the Gorges, in a few years this will only provide for 4% of the electricity in China. Within 20 years, when they build four more planned dams on the river, it will provide 1% of the electricity.




Nanjing Road. Neon neon everywhere. This, as I think I mentioned before, is the main shopping road in Shanghai and maybe China. Lots of Chinese tourists taking their pictures next to some sign at the end of the road that I assume says "Nanjing Road-make sure to ask the white devil if he wants a watch, fake dvd's, a bag, or a t-shirt. and make sure to tell him that the t-shirt comes in big sizes."




Oh man, my mouth is watering at this one again. This is the Hot Pot. The bigger bowl is the somewhat mild hot pot. The top one was a bit hotter. What was really hot in the top one was the peppercorns. Man, you get one of those on the meat and your mouth goes numb. So needlesss to say, it was wonderful!







This is just a small pic of the beer I treated myself to after a long day in Chongqing. Now I took this pic because of the brand name logo. Now correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure their logo is just like the SS symbol the Nazi secret police used to wear. I thought it was funny.








An even better ad in China. This ad includes the stars of the second greatest show on Chinese TV, the college tennis drama "wing". Great stuff.

More Photos

Just a few more random chosen pics from the trip. This is of what are called The Trackers. They bring ships up the lesser gorges at first by paddling, and as we shall see in a second, by physical pulling the boats. This is how people and goods have been transported on these small tributaries of the Yangtze for hundreds if not thousands of years.





And like I said, here are the trackers pulling the boats, or at least getting ready to. I wont show you how hard this is, because those photos are great, and I gotta protect my intellectual property of course.








Part of the MASSIVE scale model of Shanghai's development for the 2010 World Expo. They had a creepy video there that showed how happy the workers would be to get kicked out of their homes to make room for the development along the river. Classic Communist Propaganda for sure.

More Photos

Not sure if people are still reading this, but I kind of enjoy it. I think I might give an attempt at a blog again. I did for for a few weeks on political issues, but then I decided that I don't really care. Well, I do care, too much probably. But since I have decided that this country is quickly becoming a fascist place, I dont know if I will devote too much time to that issue. Of course, I have plenty of things good and bad to say about well, pretty much everything in the world.
But the real blog will have to wait. For now, I wanted to share a few more pics. I took way too many pics and it is going to take awhile to download them all off my photo bank, and to figure out what is good and what stinks. But just a few fun ones for now, to test the waters and see if anyone is still out there.





This is the donkey meat I was raving about in an earlier post. Man....seriously good stuff. Just looking at this pick, my mouth is watering a bit.








Ah more great food. The one on the left is bean curds or something along those lines. That was the hardest one to eat I thought. The Middle one is Chicken Stomachs, or stomach linings probably more correct. And on the right is Buffalo Tripe. That was really good. It was no donkey meat, but still great.














Not sure if this pic does it justice. But this is the first image from Chongqing I have posted I think. So the stairs at the bottom of the picture, and the kind of porches you see in the middle (by the sign) are all part of some housing project. Now notice what is above the housing project: yeah, thats an expressway. A busy one. Further down the river, the railroad goes underneath the expressway. And underneath both of those, is more housing. In a booming city like this, with a WIDE gap between rich and poor, every available space is used.



Ah the rare picture of me. I don't like taking photos of myself as it is, and traveling alone was a big excuse/reason for not having a lot of pics. But I managed to get a few on the cruise when I could ask a fellow westerner to do it. Given the attention I got around China, I did not want to bring more attention to myself by asking for and then posing for a picture that a Chinese person was taking of me. (Which reminds me, two things were running through my head in China a lot-"Last night I had the strangest dream, I sailed away to China in a little rowboat to find ya....Ain't no one gonna break my stride, ain't no one gonna slow me down, oh no" and of course "China man took my legs in Korea" or "The Chinaman who pissed on my rug, I can't go give him a bill" "The Chinaman is not the issue here Dude."

Neon Neon everywhere!

I couldnt get this pic to fit on the other post, but I wanted to include it as my little teaser because I really like it.

China Trip-A few quick highlights

So I have a lot of photos to sort through and figure out what they are. Once I do that, probably sometime this week, I will post a bunch of good photos on here. But for now, to wet your appetite, I thought I would post a few on here now.

This is the Bund at night. This was taken in the house keeping stairwell, with me lying on my belly because the window was on the same level as the floor.






Above is a picture of the Dragon's Gate, the start of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze. Just a teaser, more pics to come later!












This is the People's Hall in Congqing after a rain storm. Very nice indeed. It was a storm that was a mere foreshadowing of the massive downpour I would get stuck in the next night.

To the right is some fishermen along the Yangzi river. Next to them, the number ten is part of a numbering system along the river showing how high the water level will rise next year when the dam is complete.

August 6th-Best Hotel Ever

Well I am writing this blog from back in Richmond. After 30 hours in a few planes and a few airports, I made it safely. Some guy on my flight from Charlotte to Richmond this morning was complaining about having to get up at 5am, when I casually mentioned to him that I have been traveling for 24 hours already. He didnt have much to say after that.
Also, in good timing/great irony it was in Seattle that the typical traveler's ailment (especially those that are trying new foods) It will keep me tied up for a few days, but thats ok. The memory of Buffalo tripe makes up for it. (Might be one of the best travel experiences I have had so far-Its right up there with a cabbie in Prague proclaiming "Americans!" and then putting Frank Zappa on the radio, blaring it as we drove through the castle district)
My last night in Shanghai I stayed in the highest hotel in the world, The Grand Hyatt Shanghai. My room was on the 77th, so near or over 1,000 feet in the air. It was easily the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. The food was a bit pricey, and a bit too normal (although my stomach was thankful for that) I enjoyed getting out of the sun and sending some time in the highest pool in the world, especially since I think i am suffering from a little heat stroke/dehydration at this point.
The hotel I stayed in is in the building on the left of the pic, the Jin Mao tower. THe building on the right is not done yet. It is the Shanghai World Financial Center. When finished, it will be the world's tallest skyscraper if you go by roof height. (although the Burj Dubai is already the tallest, but will be under construction for another year or so)
Here's the autrium of the building and yes, I have no clue how to spell Atirum...Autruim ok enough of that.




Next pic is the highest pool in the world, where I spent a good hour going back and forth between it and the men's locker room jacuzzi. Very relaxing indeed.

August 5th-One more thing

Oh yeah, forgot to mention the weird food of the day. I didnt want to put this at the end of the last blog, didnt want it to get lost in the shuffle. Sitting at the Yichang airport restaurant today, scanning the menu. Oh my, there it is-can it be true? The thought had crossed my mind of trying this as I had heard it is actually kind of good. Do I dare actually do it though? hmm...yes....yes I do. I had donkey meat today. While its not as gross I guess as Buffalo tripe, it is still something I dont think I have ever seen on a menu in America. And I gotta say, it was really good mean. Lean and with a nice flavor to it.

August 5th-The Green Bay Packers

As I was packing my bag this morning to depart the ship, I started thinking about Brett Farve. I had completely forgotten that he was going to show up to camp, and that this whole drama was going to unfold. Later on the plane ride to Shanghai, I saw a few headlines of the English Language China Daily paper, and realized that I have no clue what is going on in the world right now and I kind of like it. I sit here writing this at a computer in my room in Shanghai, and I have resisted going to a news site to find out what has been going on. (cnn.com is blocked by the great firewall of china)
I like this felling. Its like living in a totally different world, one that exists only in the moment which you find yourself in. Did Farve show up? It doesnt matter. What is important is where I will eat my next meal. Did Batman break any more movie total records? Dont know, too busy watching the street scenes of Shanghai at night.
The whole mind frame of travel is one I enjoy. More and more as this trip goes on, I find myself more inclined to be that kind of person that just goes away for a year or so, and travels the world. I especially think this during the bad times of the trip. Because those bad moments, like thinking that both of my cameras have just broken because of a stupid Chingqing rain storm, are wonderful moments when measured against the daily life I live in reality. Sitting at a desk bored all day versus sitting in People's Park in Shanghai being bored....well....its really not a contest at all is it.
You always here that statement people say after holiday (maybe that should be another requirement for a partner-they have to use the term holiday instead of vacation or is that just oo british?) about how they had fun but they are glad to be back. As I dozed in and out of sleep on my flight today I thought about this. I will not be glad to be back. Its not because I dont like my job or because I dont like where i am living (i dont like Richmond that much at all) These opinions factor in to it, but its mostly because no matter where I am living or what my job is, if given the choice I would rather be living out of a backpack, seeing the unfamilar, and doing nothing in someplace different. I think I would be content spending my last day in Shanghai sitting in the park reading a book. I like the change of scenary that travel brings. I like that if I am becoming too familar with my scenary I can change it like that. I enjoy that thing I mentioned earlier of poping in and out of people's life when you travel. (This happened a lot on the cruise ship) I liked having a conversation last night under the neon lights of Nanjing street with three youths. It was of course through them that I found out that the night market I was trying to find, if it is still real, was very far away from where I was. But either way, I liked having a nice moment with people I will never see again. Like the british girl on the dock, whose name I got from her friend later. We had a nice moment. It was a good conversation with someone different and it ended just as quickly as it began. There is nothing more to it.
Going back to Richmond, to that daily routine and the boredom and frustration that comes with it I will not enjoy. If people ask, I will have to tell the truth and say that I had a good time on the trip but I am not glad to be back.

August 4th-Is there anything I can really say?

I slept on this blog. I am not sure what I can write that can really describe the Three Gorges. I dont think pictures even really can show the beauty of it. There are just these jagged peaks that sore out of the river. Often the peaks themselves are just sheer cliff faces, or the part of the mountain that hits the river is the cliff. These are 4,000 foot mountains we are talking about, so it is not just mere bumps in the road. I will have to post some pics when I return to the States to see if that can do the job that my words can not. (But if you want words, try doing an internet search-Chairman Mao himself used to write poems about the Gorges)
Everywhere along the river you see signs that simply say "175". This is what is believed the be the final height of what is fast becoming a 400 km lake as oppossed to the 3rd longest river in the world. There are no longer any homes really below this mark, as most of them were moved when the initially stage of flooding occurred a few years ago. But what one does see is farm land that is stil being worked that will disappear. In the current global food crisis, and in an improvished region such as this, that land is essential. But by the end of this year when the dam is coomplete and the river rises another 30 meters, it will be gone.
Unfortunately as we went through the gorges, the river guide on the boat kept a running commentary in both chinese and english which meant he was talking most of the time. But it was interesting to hear what I think can only be described as a bit of propoganda. Well, maybe. It seems like most of the Chinese really believe that the Three Gorgres Dam project is a good thing. The guide kept commenting on how navigable the river is now, which is true. And is a good thing for the most part. The amount of commercial traffic and shipping of goods on the river has increased. This has helped to lead to the boom of Chongqing. The guide also talked about flood control, which is a very good thing and in many ways was the really purpose of the dam. Electricity is a minor part of it. True, right now it supplies about 10% of China's energy. But in the next 20 years or so there are plans to build 4 more dams on the Yangzi. When they are done, the Three Gorges Dam will provide on 1% of China's energy. The guide also talked with great pride about the Neolithic sites that were found on the river banks, and almost off handly mentioned that they are now under water. There is a great amount of history that has been lost/will be lost in the flooding. One wonders if it is really all worth it for 1% of your energy needs.
The biggest part of the propoganda was in the last gorge. There is a poem inscribed on the wall from the Premier of China who greenlighted the project. The river guide says it was put there by the people of the local village because they are soooo behind the project. He then casually mentioned that the people of that village who have lived there for generations, were moved to a different village in a different province entirely. Imagine that all your family has now has been living on the river and fishing and living that lifestyle. This is how is has been for generations until the government tells you that you have to go for a a construction project.
At night, after going through part of the last gorge, we docked by the dam project itself. At night, it didnt look that impressive. I would find out the next day that its not even the biggest dam in the world (thats the Anwar Dam in Egypt) but it has the biggest locks and given all the other stuff being built around it, it is the biggest construction project in the world. Docking sucked because I was fancying a british girl, and when the boat started to pull in they sounded the horn, and that just kind of killed the mood entirely. Boo to the captain on that one.

A brief Commentary on Chinese Television

Chinese television, which is all run by CCTV, the government television stations, is very weird. There are some overdramatic shows on there, and some really dumb comedies that are very outlandish in their nature. However, There are a few points I have to highlight that make me really enjoy Chinese Television.
-There is a show called "King of Sports" Google it or go to youtube. I am not sure if its out there, but its great. One of the events they do is a long jump but you have to do a face plant. They have a 60 meter slid and slide that contestants run and try to slide on their feet as far as they can go. Its great.
-There is a drama that i think is called "Win" because thats the only word in english in the opening credits. Its amazing. I wish it was on every night in american, but in Chinese still. It appears to be about a college tennis team. They have a lot of problems with each other. They have issues with their emotions. They are grown men who cry in almost every scene. And their problems of course translate to the tennis court. But the best part is the kind of sterotypical supernatural dimension to their game. When one guy decides that he has had enough and wants to show his enemy who is boss, he breaks out his super shot. He drags his racket along the court, creating sparks (that are badly computer animated-the ball in every single shot is very very very badly computer animated as well, adding to the greatness of the show) Once he has enough power, he manges to hit a ball that curves in an almost 180 degree arc around the poles on the court. Another guy hits a serve that has so much spin on it that it hits the court on the opponenets side, and then bounces right back across the net into his waiting hand. Words can even describe its suerpiority as a tv drama.

August 3rd-Tourist Hell

I really dont have much to write for this day. The cruise gets under way. The first day involved traveling to Fengdu and going to the Ghost City, which at one point was supposedly where spirits went to be judged before going on to the next life. Of course, most of those buildings were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. All the buildings we saw where built in the last 20 years. And the three temples on top of the mountain (700 steps to the top) had giant gift shops in them. There are two things I am sure the Chinese do well. They create legends and stories for everything in their country in order to make a tradition that they destroyed in the past. And they use every chance they can to sell you stuff. I got seriously harassed in an attempt to get me to buy a panda t-shirt my last night in Shanghai at the Astor House. In the temples they sold total junk.
I hated Fengdu. I will come right out and say it. I didnt like the ghost city. I wanted to go across the river to the New Fengdu. The old Fengdu was destroyed by the first round of flooding from the Gorges Dam project and all 80,000 residents were moved across the river into a planned city.
This would actually lead to an interesting discussion with a cute british girl later this night at the bar. (seriously, even without the accent, I think I need to find a girl willing to humor me and use the xpression "I fancy" as in "I fancy a cup of tea"-hottest thing ever. Of course, the girl should also find that whole thing kind of funny) Anyway, this girl has always gone on guided tours when she goes on holiday. She couldnt understand why I wouldnt do it or why I never have. I guess there is a whole conversation to have about this, but i dont get it. It is so much more fun to strike out on your own then to have everything planned out for you. If I came to China with a tour, I would not have had tripe or the street food in Shanghai.

August 2nd-Finding something in Chongqing part II

Well, the second day of Chongqing started with the ground still wet from the massive rain storm that I got stuck in briefly last night. Luckily I had someplace to take cover. The sky was overcast, but then again it is always overcast in Chongqing. So I thought nothing of it...more on this later as it bites me in the ass.
I decided to explore the city today before meeting my guide at 4pm who would take me to the cruise boat. I will cut out comments on the growth of Chongqing since the last post was sooo long and I wanted to keep this one kind of short. But basically: ITS A BIG CITY! ITS NOISY! IT SMELLS WORSE THE SHANGHAI!
As I was heading north from the docks towards what is labeled on the map as "Food Street" a chinese guy starts talking to me. I am wary. But I remember the little girl from yesterday and I talk back to him.
We exchange normal chit chat. Then he starts talking about cruise ships and how he can get tickets. Oh no. I try to be nice since we seem to be walking the same direction and he is keeping pace with me. I remember the little girl and play nice. I tell him I already have tickets. He says ok, and the conversation moves on. I was a bit shocked by this, but still a little skeptical that eventually he would try to pull a scam on me. I ask him how to get to the liberation monument. He offers to show me. I am sure he will then try to sell me watch.
But we get to the Liberation monument and he doesnt do anything. Doesnt try to sell me anything. I ask how to get to "Food Street" and he says "oh you want to try some food huh?" and says follow me. I can see that we are heading to some kind of restuarant. And although I am a bit worried he will try something still, I am getting excited about going to a chinese restaurant in a city that has NO english menus or signs or anything, so I follow him in. It is called a snot if I heard him correct. basically is a food court, but with good food. Holy crap. I am having an amazing travel moment!
First we have what I can only describe as home made twinkie. The filling was made of milk (yeah-that was deep fried along with the pastry around it) and a veggie spring roll. I offered to pay for everything (it was super cheap in USD) and my friend didnt hesitate to accept.
The second stop in the cafeteria was the weird food section. I saw it on the way in, and I had to try something off it. There was Chicken hearts. I passed on that, but regret it a bit. There was whole little birds that were deep fried, and still looked like birds. I passed on that and dont regret it at all. I did go for the buffalo tripe. I am not sure if it was just Buffalo, or water buffalo, but it was intenstines of some big animal for sure. Second choice was the chicken stomach strips. Yes please! And to play it save, i had what I think was bean or tofu sprouts or something like that.
I gotta say, the tripe was awesome. They dipped it in this sauce when we paid and it was just amazing. Same with the chicken stomachs. It was actually the safe choice, the tofu thing, that I couldnt stand. Didnt like the textures. But the tripe I would go back for in a second!
I think this was my reward, my redemption for my guilt over the little girl or something like that. I went to a cafeteria in Chongqing with a total stranger and had Buffalo tripe. Awesome.
And then the crap hit the fan. Long story short. It poured as I was walking back to the hotel to meet my guide. I tried to get him to meet me somewhere else, but he didnt seem to get that I had checked out of the hotel at 9am. I waited in a store front with an old chinese woman who seemed happy to have me there, but I didnt understand what she was saying. At about 15 minutes to the meeting time, I didnt know where in the hell I was. I had to go for it. It was still pouring at this point. And I am not making this up. (parts of the city did flood and flights that were 30 minutes out of the city were turned away and told to go back to where they came from-I found this out the next day after taking to some Dutch guy on the cruise about architecture)
I was soaked almost immediatly. After 15 minutes I found the street the hotel was on. And of course, it was flooded. Not only was it flooded, but the sewers were over flowing-thats how much rain there was. And when I say overflowing, I dont mean a nice trickle. I mean gushing sewage onto the street.
And I walked through it.
I had to, there was no other way to get to my hotel except to go back up the hill and go around-another 20 minutes for sure.
It was up to the mid point of my shins. And it smelled really really really bad. The locals were laughing at me, but this time they probably had good reason.
I got to the hotel and the guide asked why I got stuck in the rain. When I pointed out the stupidity of coming back to the hotel (especially since I had walked right by the boat earlier in the day) he suddenly got it and laughed.
Then I checked my bag.
There was a puddle in my bag.
oh no. My little point and shoot camera would not turn on.
Even worse, my big camera wasnt working. I was not having fun at this point
Neither of my cameras would work right until the mid morning of the next day. The battery that was in my small camera at the time is totally destroyed
But luckily, they worked for the Three Gorges. Had they not, that whole experience with the Tripe and my random Chinese friend, would have been for not.

August 1st-Finding something in Chongqing

Well....it has been awhile since I have blogged. It seems dmb to write this here in this post, but hopefully when I update the past few days, people remember to read from the oldest date first, otherwise my references to finding some kind of spirtuality in "The Mountain City" Chongqing will make no sense! Hmm...I will repost this warning on every post just to make sure.
Getting up a bit later, I made my way to the Pudong International Airport in order to hop a flight into the interior of the country to Chongqing on Air China.
A few interesting facts about Chongqing before we get into:
-It is in the Sichuan (spelling?) area of China, the most populated. In fact, if I remember my facts right, 1/8th of the worlds people live there.
-It is famous for its haze. It was the World War Two capital of the Nationalist Chinese Government (the ones that fled to Taiwan, not the communists) after Nanjing got overrun. Hopefully everyone knows what happened in Nanjing...) It was chosen as the capital because of the haze. Japanese planes would bomb the city all the time. Seven days straight, on every hour at one poinst. But because of the haze they could not hit their targets, allowing the communists and the nationalist to form a truce and fight back (along with the Americans who had a presence in Chongqing at the time) against the Japanese.
-Given the birth rate, death rate, and the amount of people moving to the city: Chongqing gains 1600 people a day. I am not making that up. Of course, technically Chongqing is the size of Maine-it is one the special provinces of China, along with Shanghai, Beijing and Schezen (and I know for sure that is spelled wrong-its the city right next to Hong Kong)
I stated that last fact because it is clear when one leaves the airport that this is a massive city. The future of China is not in oil or politicals or money or anything like that. The future of China is in construction. I can not even put into words, or have taken pictures, that would have really illustrated how many high rise apartment buildings are going up the minute you leave the airport, and stretching as far as you can see from ANY point in the main part of the city. Cranes dot the horizon and the sounds of work being done is clear. When one gets closer to the city, one also sees the other aspect of this booming city. You enter the city on a bridge over the river (the main part of the city is a penninsula with the Yangzi on one side and the Jinjing I think on the other) The city is on the mountain tops, and has large cliffs all around it. On the top of these cliffs is a highway. Under that is a monorail, on and off. (sometimes it weaves on to the top of the highway) Beneath the over passes of the highway and monorail, on the cliffside, are houses. Shacks. Built onto the highway support poles. When you are cruising along the highway that curcles the city, you can see into the nooks and crannies between these new high rise buildings and find little shacks in there as well. In Chongqing, the requirements for moving there are relaxed. (In China, you can not just get up and moved to a city or area as you would like. You have to have a work visa and permission to move from the government) In this city, you just have to find a job and an apartment. No visas required. Hence the boom in population.
Arriving at my hotel, it once again has a rock solid bed. I will not miss these when I leave China. I throw my bag in my room, and head out to find supper in the city. First stop is the People's Square, with the People's Hall. It looks a bit like the Temple of Heaven in Beijing (google it) and was quite nice. While I was taking photos, people were of course taking photos of me. If I was a bit out of place in Shanghai, I was like Chairman Mao come back from the dead here. Seriously. One pair of teenagers of coursed asked to have their picture taken with me. As I sat down to take a breather, a little girl of maybe 13 came to talk to me. She asked how I liked China, if I knew any Chinese (I do know the basics at this point, enough to get by, but there is no way i can ever spell them). I am very upset at this point at being laughed at and all that, and am rejecting this stranger in a strange land thing. Also, after having every other person ask me if i want a watch in Shanghai, I am very leary of the Chinese talking English to me, convinced that it will be a scam or something like that. So I was very quickly told the girl that I had to go, got up and left. After walking about 5 minutes, I felt terrible. Here was this little girl, probably taught English and has maybe never gotten to use it with an American, and I just blew here off. I honestly felt terrible about it.
I tried going to two different restaurants to try the local speciality, the Hot Pot. It is basically a version of fondue, but involves a chili sauce and really hot peppercorns and spices. The first place, there was a big language issue. The second place, they didnt want to serve me since i was alone. Hot pot is really a dish you need a few people for, much like fondue. If you were sitting at home by yourself, you wouldnt make fondue for dinner would you? Same thing with hot pot. As I am wandering the city, very hungry and really wanting the ONE food I just had to have in China, I was still thinking about that girl. I made a kind of deal in my head that next time someone tried to take my picture or talk to me, I would go above and beyond and do what I could to make it a great experience for them. At this point I saw a foursome of Brits I had seen earlier in the Square. They were being shown into a restaurant by their guide. Being hungary, I decided to cheat and try this place.
Good news was it was a hot pot place with lots of options for food. ( you can put pretty much anything in the hot pot, let it sit and boil for a minute, and then eat it)
Bad news: They started to laugh at me. They let me sit at a table. And pointed to the Brits and made some comment I couldnt understand. And then the young waiter came.
And he spoke English.
And he was more then willing to help me out.
I wont go into details about the whole process, but I will say that the Hot Pot was amazing. Some of it was mouth numbing hot, but thats a good thing in this situation.
Things were looking up. I went back to the park, waiting to see the lights turned on at the People's Hall. Then I saw the familar look on a couple's face. They were coming in for a pic. This was a new one. They didnt say a word in english, or ask at all. They looked at me like I was a monkey in the zoo. They quickly threw their kids next to me. Remembering the little girl, I made funny faces at the boy. He was not finding me funny. He looked scared out of his mind. But I smiled for the pic.
Some kind of redemption. I thought maybe this was finding the balance of good and bad, and finding the fun in the situation. I thought maybe my internal thoughts about the guilt over treating that girl bad had come to reality. I thought about the concept of finding faith in a place like Chongqing. (And I thought that something along those lines would make a good book title, not as good as "Things to do in Richmond with Miranda" but good)
Of course, if you read this post after the August 2nd post, then you know that this pic opportunity was not the real reward for good behavior. If you read this blog first, good for you! Move on to the next one!

July 31st-The almost broekn arm

Well...Its kind of fun to know I am writing this on the 31st while all of you are sleeping during August 1st. Its like I am some ghost from your past! Ohhh spoooookkkkkyyyyy noises!!
Ok, enough of that. I wish I could post pics on here. This must be kind of boring to read without something to see with my wonderful words. But I will post a ton of photos and some fun descriptions on them when I get back. I will probably include a section titled: "What Matt and KC would have said to each other upon seeing this". Hopefully Matt P. is reading this. So Matt....and NH folks you have had to suffer/gotten to enjoy a running dialogue between Matt and KC (and Kenny too) about skit ideas for a comedy show....let me tell you Matt and Kenny, we could have a whole season of shows just based on things in Shanghai. We could probably do at least three shows on the gross mistranslations of english that are everywhere. There are some t-shirts I have seen that I just had to do a double take on. Inspirational shirts about going out and seizing the dog....again, hopefully just bad translations. (that being said, I did see a place today that I am pretty sure sold dog meat. It had a few pics of dogs on its menu...and was next to a pet store shack-you do the math)
Today's adventure in Shanghai was "Places you can't take pictures of". I probably could, but I chose not to. Today, in my effort to find the temple of books and its big book market (i found it-didnt want to pay admission to go in and every book was in chinese of course) I found myself down some back streets of Shanghai. INcredibly poor streets. The kind the government is not going to put on a flyer any time soon. I am talking about just open tiolets, over flowing sewers, community bathrooms (it looked that way-I could be wrong) and of course the restaurant that I think sells dog meat. It was an amazing place to walk through. I got a lot of laughs and stares, but I didnt mind today. Today I was pretty sure I was one of few westerns to make my way down that part of the road. I just thought that taking pics of it (and from an artistic standpoint there were some AMAZING shots) would have felt wrong. I know I probably would not like it if someone came into my neighborhood and starting taking pictures of how I live, because its bad or that different then their style. I paused a few times and started to reach into my bag, but I just couldnt do it. The experience was enough for me. Unfortunately for you, words will probably not be able to describe it. Also, at certain points, one could see the skyscarpers of Pudong looming in the distance. Kind of an interesting contrasting pictures. When the government decides they want the land (and they will-today i was on a street that on one side was what we would describe as shanties, and on the other side was construction on luxury condos) these people will probably just be cast off into the abyss. You can say its a violation of their human rights. ANd you could probably say that sometimes you have to look at the big pictures. I dont know. I have an opinion of course, but I am sure the woman at the business center is watching me type, and is probably reporting me to the government censors as you read this.
Tomorrow I am off on my flight to Chongqing, the so called furnace of china. Ug. This sadly might be my last blog until next Tuesday or Wednesday. I know my hotel Wednesday night has a business center, but I am note sure about the one in Chongqing and the one on tuesday night in Shanghai. I am positive when I am on the boat I will not be able to post on the blog. So to keep you on the edge of your seat, here is the agenda for the next few days:
Aug 1st-Fly to Chongqing, find me a hot pot! (and watch the line dancing at night in the People's Square)
Aug. 2nd- more Chongqing
Aug. 3rd- Board the boat, go down the Ynagzi river
August 4th-Yangzi
August 5th-Yangzi/Yichang/fly to Shanghai-that night is time for the night market! ( I had some street food today-some kind of pork on a stick, it rocked! I can not wait for the night market! Fried dumplings and questionable meat here I come!)
August 6th-Pudong exploration-then checking into both the most expensive hotel I have ever stayed at, and the talled hotel in the world. Today when I was DRIPPING sweat I was dreaming about the pool in this hotel, the highest pool in the world...
August 7th-8th: Fly to Vancouver, Seattle, red eye to Richmond, then sleep for about 25 hours.

Well, hopefully I will get to post again. At the very least, I have a 4 hour layover in Vancouver and a 5 hour layover in Seattle. I will try to post then at the latest. Then once I get back to Richmond I will post some nice pics on here. Namaste

Kevin

July 30th-Turnaround is fairplay

Well, the highlight of the day had to be getting hit by a bus. Well, ok. It was more like clipped by a bus but still! I was standing on the corner of Hanou and Hong Kong, like everyone does. Waiting for the little green man so I can cross the street. When all of a sudden I get hip checked by a little green bus. His bumber, my hip, they became friends. Fortuntely he hit my bag first, which probably helped to soften the blow. The two german tourists on the other side of the street found it very funny.
Lots of fellow westerners today. Mostly eastern European and a few brits. I saw most of them in the Shanghai Planning Expo which is just incredible. They have a to scale model of the city that takes up an entire floor and is awesome. The best part is the video the show about the dvelopment along the river. The plan is to build these beautiful halls for the World Expo in 2010. All of a sudden the music gets very sad. It shows the poor and hard working folks of Shanghai doing their jobs, and coming home to their very small and dirty apartments. QUick flash, the music changes, and all the hard workers are shown entering into their brand new and clean apartments! I guess you had to be there, or maybe once you see the conditions some of the people here live in, and understand how the government handles moving people for construction (see Beijing for the Olympic venues) you will find the dark humor in it. On a bright note, the buildings they are going to construct for the world expo will put the Bird Nest's in Beijing to shame!
Had my first Chinese restuarant experience today. (the one from yesterday doesnt count...dont ask me why, it just doesnt feel right to count it) But of course, after finishing my meal i find out that its a Japanese fast food restaurant i just ate in. Good, but not quite the same. And on the way back to the hotel, the woman who has been selling bowls of noodles with some green stuff in it, wasnt there! I think tomorrow I am going to dedicate to food! For now, I am going to the restaurant across the corner from my hotel for a dumpling or two, with some supermarket bought chinese junk food for desert. I have no clue what I will be eating, but the cookies had what looks to be a boy band on the front of it so really, how can I go wrong?
I tried to go to the Shanghai museum but since they apparently give out free tickets, the line was massive. So that will have to wait until another day. Instead I wander Nanjing Road, the commercial center of Shanghai, and strolled through a few of the many parks here. Once again, someone stopped and asked if they could take my picture. It was very funny, as while he was aiming, he kept saying "very handsome, very handsome" So if a billion chinese think i am handsome, then it most be true! I am just going to go ahead and extend his statement to all chinese and leave it at that! I did turn the tables a bit, hence the title of this post, and took a few pics of the chinese. Under my breath I muttered "very handsome" so its totally cool. No seriously, I was a little afraid someone was going to come and arrest me. But I was very discreet about it, and only got a dirty look once from a guy passing by who saw what I was doing. But really, I have gotten a lot of different kinds of looks, so who knows, maybe he didnt see me. Anyway, I think they might be amongest the best pics I have taken here so far!
Tomorrow I am going to explore the French Concession a bit, and maybe take a river cruise at dusk to see the sights. Then Friday, off to Chongqing where the hot pot is calling my name!
Namaste

Kevin

Tuesday July 29th-Sensory Overload

I have to admit that Shanghai is a bit overwhelming. I think my tolerance per day of it is about 5 or 6 hours, and then I just have to retreat to the safety of my hotel, where I feel ok being a tourist again.
It is loud first of all. The horns never stop. And there are people everywhere. As an american, and perhaps as an American traveling alone, there are many offers of watches and t-shirts, and women who start shining your shoes before you even realize what they are doing. "No" doesnt matter. They follow you down the street. One guy I am pretty sure made overtures of hitting me on the head with my own water bottle, or at least thats what I gathered when he grabbed my waterbottle and had his arm around me.
I was worried at first that I would fall into the tourist routine here and would be surrounded by other westerners. Well, for two reasons I am no longer worried about that.
-I am pretty sure most of Shanghai is geared to tourists, albeit the chinese kind. Most of the stores seem to sell tourist knick knacks and all of it looks bad.
-Secondly, I was pretty much the only westerner anywhere I went. In fact, when I went back to the Bund this morning to explore more, I had people whispering and laughing, and a few taking pictures of me. Even better, I had a young boy and girl come up to me and ask to take their picture with me. Its like I am a celebrity.
After walking for a few hours and several miles, I am not sure I found that many areas that were authentic Shanghai and not just created for the tourist. I did see a bunch of americans near the Yu Yuan gardens, which essentially seems to be a tea house and a bunch of stalls selling souveniers. They were with a Disney Adventure cruise apparently. Weird.
There were a few alleys though were one could glimpse the real shanghai and it wasnt pretty. It was dirty and crowded and veyr poor. But on a bright spot, its smelled just as bad as the rest of city.
Well I am off to explore the city some more. Today I am taking the easy way out and going to the Shanghai museum. It will get me out of the heat and away from the starring eyes and the people asking if i want to buy a watch. I am having a great time and enjoying the experience, so dont get confused. Its just overwhelming to say the least. Chongqing, where I am sure there are less westerns and less English spoken, will be even more overwhelming I am sure.
On the plus side, finding good and different food does not seem to be a problem. There are a lot of restuarants selling food that I am sure I can not get at the Chinese food place in Richmod for sure. Right now, before the Musuem, I am going to a place I saw down the road that serves dumplings, to give that a shot. Until later, Goodbye!

Monday July 28th-New meaning of hot and muggy

Ok, So for the second time I tried to publish a post and the computer decided that was a bad idea and erased it. This time it happened when I tried to upload a photo. So needless to say, I will not be doing that again. I have lots of photos and will take even more. And I will try to get some on here when I return to the states. But for now, you will just have to take my word for it. Literally.
Landing in Shanghai and stepping off that plane, I finally knew what hell felt like, temperature wise. It is hot and humid here beyond description. It rains, and its really windy, and you would think that would help, but it really doesnt. The lens on my cameras continually fog up.
The other thought that came to mind when I landed was how big and empty the airport is. As far as i could tell, my flight was only one of two international flights landing at that time. The terminal was empty beyond belief. I am going there again on friday for a domestic flight to Chongqing. (which worries me already, because Chongqing is known as one of the three furnaces of China it is so hot. Shanghai is not one of those three. oh man) It will be interesting to see if the domestic terminal is as empty.
I took the maglev into Shanghai. It got up to 431 kilometers. I am not sure how fast that is in Miles, but i know its really really really fast. faster then any train I have ever been on
After figuring out how to by a subway ticket, I rode from the outskirts of the city where the Maglev gets off into Nanjing road, the commercial center of Shanghai. Here I learend that everyone seems to know the english words for watch,t-shirt, and luggage. I am basing that on how many times those words were yelled at me with a question mark afterward. Lots of fakes everywhere. After navigating this madness, I found the Bund, which is another kind of madness. From here I got my first view of the Shanghai World Financial Center, the skyscraper that looks like a bottle opener. But at the moment, if you go by ceiling height, it is the largest building in the world. Pudong, the new city that is the business center of China, looks like something out of Blade Runner, especially when compared to the other side of the river (the Bund) which is filled with colonial architecture.
I found my hotel by following the bund until it reaches the creek. Once in my hotel room i literally pased out. I put my head down on the hardest bed in the world (seriously, its like sleeping on wood) and next thing I knew it was 8pm at night. I took off the contacts and went right to sleep, ready to explore Shanghai on Tuesday!

Sunday July 28th-The flights begin

Well this post will be short because it is my second attempt to write it. The first attempt was a bit longer and included words of wisdom, but the computer I am working on decided to erase it when I tried to publish it. So I will keep this relatively short. I havent been able to post in a few days because I could not for the life of me find an internet cafe anywhere. I assumed that being a city with a lot of travelers passing through it, that these cafes would be everywhere. Of course I forgot that along with this being a Communist country worried about censorship, this is also a country where addiction to internet chat rooms is a serious problem. Seriously. There are support groups and everything. Good times.
So here is all you really need to know about my 12 hour flight from Vancouver to Shanghai:
-12 hours in an airplane sucks as much as you think it does
-I took a lot of drugs but still just couldnt fall asleep
-This non sleeping was partly made up for by the fact that I had two seats to myself. It wasnt a very full flight. So to be able to stretch out for a bit was wonderful.
-The food rocked. Well, it was airline food and still sucked, but it was kind of good chinese food. More importantly it came with a chili sauce that was just amazing. Seriously, it made the burnt rice seem like fine dining. I am going to have to see if I can grab a handful on my trip home.

I will talk about landing in Shanghai on the next post since technically it didnt happen until Monday.

Saturday July 26th-Getting Ready

Today was a day spent farting around Tacoma with my Aunt and her partner Chuck. We got to see the new house they are moving into, and see what they believe is everyday life in Tacoma. This, combined with our trip on Friday to the Tacoma Lawn and Tennis Club has convinced me that the rich live very different lifes then the rest of us.
And they all are beautiful.
Tacoma, despite its rampant gang life and apparent connection to the LA drug trade, fits a lot of stereotypes about the life of the rich and the Pacific Northwest.
-There are about four starbucks on the street outside of our hotel.
-Gardening shops are apparently the rage and all people do
-Old ugly guys marry young good looking girls a lot
-Tennis is not a hobby, but a lifestyle
-The local native american images are used everywhere, and not by the natives

Well, off to the wedding reception to eat very expensive food. Tomorrow I go on a very long flight to end up in Shanghai.

Friday July 25th-Meeting Uncle Skip

Well my cousin got married today. And while any who know me, know that I am a romantic at heart. So I could tell a story about the power of love, of two souls finding each other, of the groom crying as he read his vows, or of how my cousin who never really seemed to care about anyone at all found the one person she could love forever.
But instead I am going to write about Uncle Skip.
Skip is the stuff of legend in my family. Although he is not related to me, he always seems to come up. He is the brother of my cousin's father. So their uncle, but an uncle to me in, well, not even in name only.
But oh how I have waited to meet Skip.
Let's see if I can do a brief history of Skip. He went to work one summer after graduating law school for a judge in Chicago. That judge happened by chance to move to DC that fall to serve on the most powerful court in the land. You and I know him as Justice Stevens from the Supreme Court. Yeah. That guy. After doing this, Skip could pretty much write his own ticket anywhere in the world. Where he eventually went was Atari. Remember them? He was there when they were the biggest thing in the world. Then he went to Universal. He was there when that company got sold and he made a ton of money. Skip now "freelances" as he calls it. Let's put it this way: I was talking to him today about Shanghai, as he used to live in China and knows it well. He starts the advice by saying "well last time I was there I was a guest of the government..." Yes, the government of China was tyring to wine and dine him to get him to open a factory outside of Hong Kong.
Yeah.
Skip used to give my cousin's $100 to be quiet in car rides. I would not be surprised at all if the card he gave my cousin today contained a check for over $100,000. Seriously, I would not even blink. Think of people who bought Snapple or IBM stock before they took off. He is probably that rich, tens of millions in the bank.
He is one of "those guys." Ever watch the news, and here them talk about big ticket democratic fund raisers, the ones who do the collecting from their friends and raise millions? Skip is one of those guys. Barack Obama was told that Skip is someone good to know if you want to be a national politician. So it was Obama who called Skip THE DAY AFTER his big speech at the 2004 Convention. Obama called him, wanted to get on Skip's good side. Skip was the chair of the Edwards 2008 and 2004 campaigns. He oversaw the WHOLE state. He knows Bill and Hillary Clinton personally. Again, he is a MASSIVE fundraiser for the democrats. He used to say hello to Madonna in the morning when she would drive by his house. He takes my cousins to movie premieres and to Sun Valley Idaho to ski with Bruce Willis.
And once again, if Obama wins, Skip will be thanked. If Obama wins, I will always remember Skip telling the story about how he saw the big speech in 2004, and checked his messages after ward to see that Obama had called him after the speech. The next day they went out to lunch, just Obama and Uncle Skip. I just missed hitting the "related through marriage" jackpot on this one.
He is of course, I must say, a wonderful person. If he gave my cousin a lot of money, it was certainly not to because it means so little to him. I am sure the thought of being able to give my cousin life changing money so that she and her husband can start their life together makes him feel great inside. He also just got married to his partner of 30 years last month. They wanted to get married before the same sex marriage ban proposal goes on the ballot in California. Seriously. Listening to him tell the story about getting married when they first offered them in San Fran, only to have his government take it away was sad. Even better, was the story of wonderful it felt to stand in line last month and get married again. As his partner Van put it, its a wonderful thing to be treated the same as everyone else in the world.
Uncle Skip...worth the girl puking of sure.

Thursday July 24

Well I wont tell another horrible travel story here, since I am sure everyone has been through some rough times at airports and on planes. This one involved a minimum delay, the most uncomfortable seat ever, a little girl who insisted on sleeping on my shoulder despite the fact that her mother was next to her, and that same little girl puking into a bag while her mother slept.
But after all this I arrived in Seattle and was instantly reminded of why I love this area, and why when I do a job search again next year this while be on my short list of dream areas. Since I didn't get in until Friday in reality, I don't have much to say about this day.
But I must comment on the fact that I do love to travel. I really do. Even after uncomfortable seats and not being able to sleep on that five hour flight, I still love traveling. I love going someplace new or someplace that just smells of the familiar. I love getting into a cab and telling the driver to take you to your next destination. I love the littler interactions with people you have along the way, the little songs you right together. Sometimes they are long drawn out epic rock songs, sometimes they are short little 2 minute pop songs. There is always in the course of my travels at least one moment where I pop into someones life, instead of simply being a face in the mosaic. Last night sadly, it was when I switched seats so that a young newlywed couple could sit together. They enjoyed their flight, and fell asleep during the first of the two movies on the flights. I, well, I got to sleep next to the puking girl. They saw this. They laughed as she threw up, rather loudly, in a bag next to me. So if they repeat that story to anyone, they will mention that they avoided sitting next to her by switching seats with me. In the credits I would be "Man on plane #1" A small role but a mentioned on none the less!

The biggest decision of all

Well, now that I have made this blog public, or at least to the people I know, I thought I would ask the most important question I can. At least as it relates to my travel plans here. I am torn on what book to bring. The flight from Vancouver to Shanghai is roughly 15 hours. Being a fast reader, I could finish several normal sized books during that time. So I thought it would be smart to bring a big book, a classic, maybe something I wouldn't normally read sitting by the pool because of it's length. I have come down to three choices, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. And its an important decision since I probably wont be able to watch a lot of TV as I am trying to sleep since its probably all going to be in Chinese except for CNN. And I have a lot of time to spend in airports and on planes. (in total...its probably about 70 hours I will be spending in total on planes and in airports) Any ideas what to pick?

1) Atlas Shrugged-Ayn Rand
(+)I like her style of writing, its small in its size but extremely long
(-) Opinion on this book seems to be divided. Apparently it can get a little too far into her
philosophy. She did this in "The Fountainhead" and I didn't like those sections of that book

2) Harlot's Host-Norma Mailer
(+) I have read a few of his books, and love them all. Interesting topic (The CIA)
(-) Its only 1100 pages....And the print is not too small, I might be able to finish most of this
on the flight to Shanghai. The size of the book is the biggest of the three options
3) War and Peace-Leo Tolstoy
(+) Its very long. And its a classic, suppose to be one of the best books of all time. And the size
is perfect for the one backpack i am bringing on this trip
(-) It has a large cast of characters and apparently that can get confusing sometimes. I have
not read anything by Tolstoy yet. I don't know if I like his style. If i get to China and don't
like it, then I am in trouble as far as reading material goes.

Well I am officially all packed at this point. I started listening to a few Mandarin Chinese lessons I downloaded for my 15 hour flight over the pacific ocean. Of course, it is all kind of a pointless venture, since in Shanghai they speak a different dialect, as well as in Chongqing. I am hoping that I learn enough to be able to say "Don't feed me fish, it will make me sick in your restaurant." That is something that would work out well for everyone.
Today, I happened to be able to re watch the episode of "Globe Trekker" that made China and the Three Gorges my destination for this year's adventure. Turns out by chance, the host of the show stays in the same hotel I am staying in for the first few nights in Shanghai. Through this show, I learned that Chongqing, where I will spend two days, has a community dance party every night in the main square. The fountains of the square play music, and the locals do a big line dance to it every night. It was kind of a cross between country/ball room. Hmm....I wonder if lack of rhythm is the same in China as it is here....

Hello from Richmond...for now

Hello to everyone out there who I remember to send the address of this blog too! For now, this blog will serve as a way for those who are interested to follow me as I travel through China for 12 days or so.
This trip is the first step. I was watching a documentary where a woman who is traveling the world was told how lucky she is to be traveling. And she replied that it wasn't luck, it was a state of mind. And while I am not going to be maxing out my credit cards to see the world in a year (not yet at least...applications being accepted for travel partners though!) I decide that really it is pointless to always say year after year how I want to travel and experience things without actually doing them. So the plan is to travel abroad at least once a year. And this trip to China is the first in that series.
Next year the work on the Three Gorges Dam will be finished next year. There was been a lot of flooding already on the Yangtze, and a lot of wonderful sights are lost forever already. But next year, the transformation of the Gorges and the Lesser Gorges will be complete. I am going this summer to make sure that at least I can see that small glimmer of what they once were, before the shine fades forever.
Here is the general outline for the trip. After spending 15 hours in a plane from Canada, I will land in Shanghai roughly 16 hours ahead of the time my body is used to. After four days in Shanghai, I will fly into the interior to Chongqing, quite possibly the biggest city in the world. (some say as high as 40 million in the metro area) After two days in Chongqing and hopefully a LOT of spicey food, I will be taking a Chinese tourist boat down the Yangtze through the Three Gorges to Yichang City, right on the edge of the dam itself. I fly to Shanghai for three more days. On my last night in Shanghai, I am going all out, and spending the night in the highest hotel in the world. I will swim in the highest hotel in the world, and take a bath in my room over 1,000 feet in the air with floor to ceiling windows showing me Pudong and the rest of Shanghai. It should be quite fun.
I will try to post on here every night. However, I have heard stories of internet cafes in China not allowing people to post photos. This might be especially true given the run up to the Olympics. I will be taking a page out of my buddy Franky's blog when he traveled, and posting after the fact if necessary. So I will miss a few days on the cruise, but when I return to Shanghai I will post separate blogs for the days I missed so everyone knows what was going on. And when I return to Richmond, and after I sleep literally all day in order to catch up on the time, I will post a lot of nice photos on here.
Then on Saturday I rest. And then on Sunday, I start planning the next trip. There are many representations of the human experience out there, none more right or wrong then mine and yours. Personally, I want to experience all of them not to say which one is est or which ones need some work, but to see how others live their days on this piece of rock circling in space.
Ok, enough poetic stuff. I leave for Seattle on Thursday the 24 for my Cousin's wedding. And then Sunday I hope on the plan to Shanghai. The first post will therefore be on Monday the 28th, so look for it then!