7-Day Cruise

During the 10 day National Holiday, we went on a Costa Cruise to Korea and Japan.

The weather was perfect, the sites were beautiful, and we had a great time!

 

 

 

I think these photos say it all!

EXPO 2010 SHANGHAI CHINA

With 22 days of Expo remaining, we went to check out as many pavilions as possible.

It's an enormous site!  I finished my Cambodian chicken skewers way before I reached the end of one building!

The China Pavilion is a masterpiece of architectural design.  All of China's provinces are represented inside, plus a whole lot more that we did not see (but will after October).

One such province is Shaanxi, home of the terracotta warriors in Xian.  Check out THIS warrior, 2 1/2 times its actual size!  Haibao, the blue Expo mascot, reminds some people of Gumby, but with much better dance moves.

Having lived in Morocco, we had to visit the pavilion.  Inside, it resembled a beautiful riad with displays of traditional clothing, silver, zellij tile, carved plaster ornamentation, and a recreated medina on the second floor with several souks, or specialty crafts, on display.  We bypassed the long line by greeting one of the guards with our Moroccan Arabic greeting.  We felt right at home inside and yearned to return for another walk through the Place Djemaa el Fna.

We also bypassed the long line at the Israel Pavilion because I met the architect, Haim Dotan, at a gallery opening a few weeks ago and he gave me his card.  I invited him to speak at our school and he enthusiastically agreed.

This tough looking panda is outside a joint called, "Kung Fu Bing."  I'm holding a free umbrella I got for buying an ice cream cone.

We couldn't leave without visiting our own country's pavilion.  The characters below "USA" are "Mei Guo" (meaning beautiful country).  We bypassed the long line by showing our passports.

At the Netherlands Pavilion, they were giving away fiberglass sheep!  Not really.  The sheep are scattered around and people sit on them and take pictures.

We also visited the Pavilion of Urban Planet, and the Papa John's Pizza Pavilion, which was actually just a restaurant with a delicious Hawaiian pizza.

By the way, the Expo's theme is, "Better City, Better Life."  It is interesting to note that since its founding (c.1997), Papa John's slogan has been, "Better Ingredients. Better Pizza."

61st Anniversary of the Founding of the Republic of China

We are on a 10-day holiday!

What a great way to celebrate my birthday month!

Taking advantage of our geographic location, we will be taking a cruise to Busan, South Korea and Fukuoka and Kagoshima, Japan.  Follow along by checking out the ship's webcam!

Click on the ship on the right, nearest Asia called, "Costa Romantica."  Then click on the camera.

See you later!

Taming the Electric Tram

Catching the tram was less challenging than I thought it would be.  We waited a mere 3 minutes before it silently approached the platform.

I paid 2 kuai with my transportation card, "BEEEEP".

Once inside its belly, we sat on a comfortable seat, 

and gazed upon the modern, sci-fi interior.

We snacked on the peanut butter and jelly sandwich

I said I would make (see earlier post) and

enjoyed the pleasant, zero-gravity ride, 

and arrived at the end of the line 15 minutes later.

When we got off, there was a flurry of activity, with lots of people buying food, changing buses, and running to catch the tram.  This restaurant, perhaps specializing in tasty, cartoon duck, had a continuous recording touting their special of the day, but we were not enticed:

Down the road a bit, we noticed a slew of delivery bikes for a popular fast-food chicken chain, most noted for their crispy batter with 11 herbs and spices, otherwise known as, "ken-tuh-chee"

Returning home after a quick bite, we said goodbye

to our shiny friend as it slowly drifted away out of sight.

Better X, Better Y

Better City, Better Life.  

That is the theme of this year's Expo and Shanghai is doing its best to make those words ring true in many areas, including transportation.  Take a look at this 4 second video I shot from my balcony recently:

Did you see it?  Was it a monorail?

A re-designed Oscar Meyer Weinermobile?  

No. It was a quiet, sleek, and brand new electric tram that was just launched in August 2010 and runs in a 10 km circuit throughout the Zingjiang HiTech Park area, our neighboring sector.

Better Transportation,

Better Sandwich. 

Until now it has been elusive, and finding information on it has been difficult, even though there is a stop just behind our apartment complex.  It is like a wild horse, and I am like a horse whisperer who will tame it...and ride it...on Friday.  I'm going to make two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I will ride it's full circuit just for fun.  The cost? 2 kuai (about 30 cents).

Better Passenger Seat Video Screen,

Better Taxi Ride.

Here's another way to improve on uninformative, 

and perhaps boring, taxi rides when one is waiting 

at a stop light in the rain (that's the top of my head

above the headrest):

I'd Better stop.  Better yet, just go to another website.

Living the Expat Life: 6 Topics

First topic: Mexican Food.

In Morocco, we took a 3 hour train ride, walked for 1 hour, and took a taxi to get some TexMex food.  Here in China, we took a 10 minute bus ride and walked 10 minutes in the rain for 1 dozen corn tortillas, which are apparently only available in restaurants, like La Pistolera.

How far would you walk/drive/train/taxi for a tortilla?

Second topic: Big American Breakfasts at Element Fresh

For 64 RMB (about $9.45), you can enjoy a breakfast designed just for Big Americans, like me.  In case you can't read it, it says, "4 eggs any style, 3 strips of bacon, 2 sausage links, 2 pieces of french toast, potatoes, fresh fruit, and a bottomless cup of coffee or tea."

That's why we're BIG AMERICANS...

but we split it between the two of us.

Third topic: Shopping for a Refrigerator and 

Ending Up With Window Coverings

Let's just say I sealed the deal with a handshake...

...and used the packing foam to cover my bare windows.

Fourth topic: The Bund at Night

We had dinner with a colleague overlooking the Bund and it was spectacular!  We had only seen it during the day when we visited 2 years ago.  We live about 20 minutes away from this spot.

I hope my next photos will be from one of the cruise ships.

Fifth topic: Shopping at Carrefour and Meeting a Giant Marsupial(?)

Carrefour is a WalMart + Target + Meat Market + Food Court + Costco + Mall + Sears + Disneyland.

Here I am, fresh and ready to have my senses overloaded with signage, waves of people, and thousands of products -- but which ones to buy?

Perhaps this giant koala can guide me!  "Look, mommy!  The Big American is taking a picture with that Big 有袋目动物(?)

Sixth topic: Traffic Reports from the Kitchen

We live on the 7th floor of an apartment building in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai and this is a view looking northeast from our kitchen.

Our commute to work consists of walking 8 minutes to school past the playground (near the lower right corner of the photo).  Before we leave, we look down to see if any strollers or toddlers are jamming up the walkway.  If so, we leave about 10 seconds earlier than usual to avoid the rubberneckers!

Street Food, Sweat, and Super Malls

Access to this site was restricted, but it has been resolved...for now.

Taking advice from seasoned-street-food-eaters, we have already enjoyed 44¢ Chinese burritos and 74¢ Chinese tortas -- both very delicious -- and we have scoped out some tasty skewer carts and sidewalk stirfrys.  Can you hear the sizzle?

Our first week has been quite exciting, and we are adjusting to the heat and humidity.  A towel, lots of water, and an umbrella are essential items.  Like most of the world, the average temps have been higher or lower than usual.  Shanghai is about 12º-15º higher than average and we feel it!

Across from the Pearl Tower is a shopping mall.  Not a Westside Pavilion, or Mission Viejo Mall, or Eagle Rock Plaza-type mall, I'm talkin' a HUMONGOUS 13 story MEGA MALL!  We have been told that Shanghai does not do anything small.  It's called the Super Brand Mall.

There were so many food choices, and we wanted to sit by a window to see the French Quarter skyline across the river.  It was a Friday night, and everyone was at the mall.  All the restaurants had an hour long wait...except for one.  It was the best view from a Pizza Hut we ever had.