on the road
A trip to the east to find...something. I'll know when I see it. Or not.
Flight plan: leave LAX at 9:54am on Monday 10Apr06. Arrive Shanghai via SFO Tuesday afternoon (Shanghai time). About 16 hours of travel time.
Let the trip begin...
April 10, 2006
sfo and me
Leg one complete, and sitting in SFO. Thanks to T-Mobile I have net access. Another hour or two before the 13 hour jaunt to Shanghai. Feel like a bug is trying to nip at my heels, but that's been going on for a couple weeks. Will it win? Time will tell.
April 11, 2006
shanghai'd
First leg of the trip was a piece of cake...made the LA-Bay Area milk run many, many times. SFO to Shanghai though? Uggh...13 hours into 100mph headwinds. Tokyo was 11 hours, so this is a new record for me. One I'd like not to break. Well, unless I'm flying to see an F1 race.
Now why can't I get these in the states?
breakfast, not at tiffany's
Morning broke of the city...although my laptop insists its 9:11pm while writing this, it's actually about noon on Wednesday. Had buffet in the Regent Club Lounge on the 48th floor. Here's the view from there:
oh thank heaven
for 7-11...or the local version of it
don't they look like a happy couple? Obviously ramen is the key to a good marriage...
April 12, 2006
lights, lunch, and other
beads
two sides of the same curtain
1221
No, not the Rush album for dyslexics, but rather the dinner spot. Popular with ex-pats in Shanghai, the food was great and most importantly, the place was a short walk from the hotel. It is cold and rainy here, the wait for a cab was too long, so instead we hoofed it a couple blocks to 1221.
phone home
Thursday morning here in Shanghai, and I type this from the 48th floor Executive Lounge computer. The view from here is spectacular, although the weather is still dodgy...overcast and windy but at least no rain for the moment. My mind boggles at the concept of 14-20M people living within eyeshot of where I stand...buildings thick and deep, with new ones going up all the time, and the old smaller ones being leveled in the name of progress. This is a quite vibrant and kinetic place, although the sound of honking horns is truly annoying.
April 13, 2006
quick post, crazy city
On limited unknown origin wireless, so I'll be brief and just post the photos from a day of wandering around Shanghai. I'll never complain about riding a motorcycle in LA again...
hot fun in the city
driving in cars with mao
If you want to get around in the city, you take a cab. They are everywhere. And the driving is...let's call it aggressive. If you look you'll see a video screen there. Can't pass up an opportunity to bombard the senses. Last night I had to look away as it was making me car sick. Hey, I'm a wimp in some ways, what can I say.
April 14, 2006
smooth in the old city
Spent the day wandering through the old part of Shanghai...one of the few parts that hasn't been razed (yet) to make way for more glass and steel. Plenty of tourist trap areas, but lots of back alleys and other haunts with few laowai. I was the only one at the lunch stop.
and me with no camera
Went to dinner last night and left the camera in the hotel. Bad idea. Hunan cuisine was on tap, although I entered with some trepidation as the Hunan I've had back in the states sucked. But I was assured that this was good spicy Hunan. A walk a few blocks and then upstairs to Dishuidong resulted in a feast that had me every five minutes saying, "damn this is good...where's my camera?"
April 15, 2006
where's waldo?
which one doesn't belong?
new digs and more town
Another hotel move today, the out and about in the city. Plenty of contrasts...and for the first time since arrival, SUN!
hotpot
Hotpot for lunch today. Last time I tried it in Monterey Park (during grad school), I got really sick from some bad fish balls. I suspect that this will not be the case today...like all the food so far, this seriously rocked.
subway, shanghai style
April 16, 2006
more food
After a long day out and about, it was dinner in...a review of sorts. You could go to the aquariums and pick out your own fish for them to cook. Opted for some river shrimp and tofu
capitalism makes for strange bedfellows
a model society
A trip to the Urban Planning museum. Sound like a bore? It isn't...amazing stuff, with historical records of the city, and a sprawling model of what the city will look like in 2010 for the world expo. The pictures don't do it justice, but you know me...I take 'em anyway...
nanjing, you shop long time
i got yer sichuan
I like hot food. I've eaten hot (spicy) all my life, having grown up in San Diego, home to plenty of great Mexican food. In fact the first food I ever bought on my own was flour tortillas and hot sauce for $0.05 at Taco Casa down on Mission Gorge Rd. when I was a kid. But this stuff...egad. The little round pepper corns? Be afraid...very afraid. It wasn't just spicy hot...I literally could not feel my mouth after a few bites. But still I kept eating. S said something about opium...
shanghai sunday
on the bund
Everyone says you have to do the Bund at night. So we did. M on the Bund for dinner, then T8 for dessert. I love me the night shots...
April 17, 2006
arrive before you leave
Alas, the west called (literally...had a conference call at 2am Shanghal time), so it was time to head back to LA. The funny thing is I left Shanghai at 12:45pm on Monday afternoon, and got into SFO at 8:00am Monday morning. Curious. Maybe it's because I was reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on the flight back...
The trip from town to the airport was cab/subway/maglev. What's a maglev? a 400+ kph train, that's what.
So long Shanghai. Until we meet again.
processing
Well, it's a little after 1pm Shanghai time (tomorrow), but 10pm in LA. Luckily I *think* I might have timed my sleep right as I'm pretty beat right now. But I'm sure i'll wake up at some ungodly hour and want hunan ribs or something. So much to process...so many sights, sounds, smells and textures. So many thoughts, feelings and demons. Plenty to go around, but it's all part of the wonderful continuous mistake. When in doubt, take a picture...it'll last longer. Although some things last forever.
April 26, 2006
surgical strike
Another surgical strike for work today. Drop the boy off at school, get a ride from S (thanks S!) to LAX, hop on a plane with 4 colleagues up to Oakland, hop in the rental car (with Hertz Platinum, they meet you at the airport...good to travel with a former Paramount prez), drive to Livermore, a couple hours of meetings, then reverse process. Southwest is like a commuter bus...
June 16, 2006
another ipod use
The Rockies are using the iPod for more than just tunes...
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