last weekend in Shanghai, visit to Qibao

 Link to photo album

The time really has flown by over here...can't believe that my last weekend in China is already here.   My coworker Nancy recommended I go take a look at Qibao, an old water-town about ten miles from the office.  A quick subway ride and I was on the outskirts of Shanghai trying to figure out where exactly were these canals.  Eventually I followed the crowds and found my way into the Qibao 'old street' area....wow...talk about sensory overload.  The crowds and sights were one thing, but the smells were something else.  Imagine equal parts of fruit, meat, sugar, and sesame oil all cooking in a pan with a teaspoon of garbage put on top....the competing smells of the various food vendors, trash, and canals was overwhelming. Pretty crazy place to walk through though...Seattle is gonna feel like wilderness after spending time here.

Becky's five day blitz of Shanghai!

Hard to believe that at first when we found out I was heading to China for work that Becky wasn't sure she'd fly over here to join me for a little while....she's so much more into 'cultural trips' than I am and she really hasn't done much travelling that wasn't sport related in quite some time.   Fortunately she decided to head on over and hang out with me for a little while.

Saturday, we walked all over the city, and sampled some truly amazing fried dumplings..
Photos from day 1



Sunday, we hopped a bullet train to the nearby city of Suzhou to check out some gardens and a museum designed by I.M. Pei.
Photos from day 2



Monday, I had to return to work so Becky hit a couple museums and in the evening we took the subway over to the 'Fabric Market' where she met with a tailor to get measured for a custom-made cashmere coat.
Photos from day 3



Tuesday, the weather was a big improvement from the drizzle on Monday so Becky was able to get back out and do more urban hiking...this time armed with my slr camera instead of her point & shoot (i think she got some really nice pictures).  We finished off the day with a trip to a nearby Taiwanese restaurant where again we filled our bellies with all sorts of food that would be hard to find back home.
Photos from day 4



Wednesday, another day of perfect weather for Becky, so more sightseeing, checking out neighborhoods, galleries, markets... I think at this point she's seen more of Shanghai than I have!  My coworker Nancy and her husband Gummi took Becky and I to a Hunan restaurant for lunch where yet again we ate all sorts of culinary treats that we'd never had before.   That evening, we braved the Shanghai subway at rush-hour and headed for the airport.
Photos from day 5

Aimless wandering through Shanghai....

Having walked around a lot of downtown Shanghai, the French Concession neighborhood, and the wacky new area of Pudong, I took the subway over to the YuYuan Garden, tourist market, and just kinda wandered aimlessly for most of the day...
Its tiring walking around the touristy parts of town, constantly saying 'may-yo' ("no" in chinese)...to every offer for a watch, a tea drinking scam, or a massage....but getting off the main drag everyone pretty much leaves you alone and you get to see the city.

Morning jaunt across the Huangpu River

Finally had a half day free and took the subway over to Pudong...the 'new' part of Shanghai.  Big, big architecture over there....funny though that I think the most therapeutic thing aboiut heading over there was the lack of honking horns.  Throughout most of Shanghai there is a near constant din of honking car horns, but traffic in Pudong was so light, there weren't any horns....peace and quiet...or at least pretty close to it.

exported...

Five days after getting home from Kauai, I was back at Seatac....off to Shanghai for six weeks.    At this point, its two weeks down, four to go....so far so good.   The work is great, the city is fascinating, the lack of mountains, fresh air, and exercise is a little depressing at times, but it is certainly one heck of a cultural experience and the whole world seems a lot smaller and more easily accessible than I ever thought before.