Just Another Ordinary Day in Shanghai

This woman is very comfortable walking around the neighborhood in the middle of the day in her PJ's.

We never get tired seeing how much junk one can fit on his bicycle...

Tyler chased this guy down the street to try to get this shot...

Every man gets a job, even if it's spraying toxic chemicals all over the place.

Chinese girls love wearing short, short skirts... Tyler and Gavin always notice because that is eye level to them. T took this photo.

Back in Time to Yangshuo, China... Karsts and Farmland

The boys and I took our first trip to the China countryside at the end of February. We went with two other families, with kids of similar ages. It was a great trip, because while the kids kept each other busy playing tag and cards, I was able to take in the beautiful scenery of Yangshuo.

The draw of this area of the country are the mountains called "karsts," which is landscape or terrain that results from the weathering of bedrock that is soluble in water (in this case, limestone). This type of landscape develops slowly over tens of thousands of years or longer. An interesting feature of these types of landscape are the caves that are formed beneath. We were able to go into one, and although it was lit up like the glitzy Vegas strip, it was quite impressionable!

Among the karsts, there is plenty of flat land. Farmers grow miles and miles of crops. I was so overwhelmed by the hard work that these people do each day. Old men digging up huge parcels of land with just a shovel, no farming machines in sight. Women carrying heavy loads of materials in buckets balanced on bamboo poles on their shoulders, no trucks in sight. Small children too young to go to school, out weeding in the fields; shouldn't they be playing?

We stayed in a nice little inn by the Li River called the Snow Lion Mountain Inn. It was rustic, but clean, and had modern Western bathrooms (no squatty potties, phew!). We were the only guests in the whole inn, so we had the run of the place, which was fantastic! The food was delicious and really cheap. The forecast was for rain all weekend, but happily, we didn't see a drop all weekend. To top it off, Sunday was sunny and quite warm.

The charming Snow Lion Mountain Inn.

Breath-taking karst scenery. This is the Li River near our inn.

Inside Silver Cave with its psychedelic color-changing lights. This cave was accidentally discovered about a decade ago by some children who were playing in the area.

Taking a break... being a world traveler is tough work.

The town of Yangshou with its karst background. Beautiful!

The Chinese 20-yuan note has a scene from the Li River on the back of it.

Here it is... the scene from the 20-yuan note. But it's not as peaceful as it looks on the note because of the loud motors on the many boats which go up and down the Li River with sightseers, which I guess would include us.

The boys on our Li River boat cruise.

Impressions Sanjie Liu show. The stage is the Li River and lights light up the karst landscape beyond. The 600+ actors in the show are local farmers and fishermen. They perform in this show every night of the week!

Here we all are on the bamboo rafting trip. It was peaceful, quiet and beautiful (no motorized boats in this area).

One of the crazy Chinese rafters. As usual, a cigarette dangling precariously out of his mouth...

On top of Moon Hill, one of the karsts that is famous because it has a half-moon shape carved out of its top.

Our little world travelers with Ding, our local guide.

Chinese Fashion: Pajamas in Public

Some Chinese people like to wear their pajamas in public. The fashion statement began "as a matter of practicality because people lived in cramped conditions with no clear line between public space and private place," a Chinese sociologist tells the South China Morning Post.

There was a crackdown in Shanghai on people wearing them in public last year because the 2010 World Expo was in town and Shanghai wanted to "look its best." I guess they didn't think people looked their best walking around in their pajamas?

Well, I've seen a few dudes still walking around in them - on crowded streets and in the crowded supermarket.

Quite subtle, right? I also dig this guy's hardcore slippers. That's my driver in the car behind pajama-boy. I think even he was a little surprised!

This person is at least wearing practical shoes.

Escape to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is still part of China, but in a way, you feel like you're not in China. The people there are snobs about mainland China. The ones we talked to like to think that Hong Kong isn't really part of China. Because of this, the city feels a bit more international and English is spoken more abundantly.

We stayed in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong which overlooks Hong Kong Island where all the buildings are lit up beautifully at night. What a view! I tried to capture it, but I'm not good with the light settings on my camera. I aspire to take a class to learn... hopefully I will before my China adventure is over. I hate the photo opps that I'm missing because I don't know how to use my expensive camera correctly!

We went to Hong Kong for four days, but unfortunately, Gavin had a stomach flu and threw up all over the place (literally) for two days of it. However, we managed to get out and about a bit to catch the major sights. My favorite was going up to Victoria Peak and overlooking the tall buildings of downtown Hong Kong. A few years ago, I saw a photo of my grandmother on Victoria Peak taken in the 1980's, and it was fun to think that my grandmother had walked in this same place this far away from home.

Alas, shopping is probably the sport of choice in Hong Kong, but we didn't get to do much of that this time. But, we'll be back!

Atop Victoria Peak overlooking downtown Hong Kong.

Waiting for the tram back down from the Peak.

Only 8,065 miles from Hong Kong to New York.

Taking the "Mid-Levels Escalators" - this is the longest outdoor covered escalator in the world. Since Hong Kong is very steep and hilly, this escalator is a great way to get up and down the streets of Hong Kong without breaking a sweat!

Dinnertime!

The Night Market - where you can buy just about anything your heart desires...

View of Hong Kong Island from our hotel at sunset.

Bright, colorful lights at night.

Bright lights, big city.

Kowloon Park - a beautiful oasis in the busy city.

The Star Ferry.

A fun day with an old friend... meeting up with Matt's former high school classmate, JJ, who now lives in Hong Kong.

The boys became fast friends.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail (aka "The Year of the Rabbit")!

GONG XI FA CAI! (Happy Chinese New Year!)

Seriously, sometimes China is just so juvenile and tacky (at least from my Western perspective). Take, for instance, the whole Chinese New Year thing. I cannot believe what hoopla this holiday is. It is the loudest holiday I have ever experienced, and it seems to go on forever. It's difficult not to notice it. Firecrackers go off at all hours of the night. And we are not talking about supervised, safe fireworks. We are talking go out in your front yard and light off industrial-strength fireworks that can be seen for miles. After a few big firework nights, we had firework shells and remnants all over our front yard and porch. It's not safe to go outside when neighbors are setting these things off. It's loud not only in sounds, but in colors and decor. There are red plastic and cardboard decorations everywhere, and since this is the "Year of the Rabbit" (based on the Chinese Zodiac of 12 animals), cartoonish-looking bunnies and stuffed animals abound. Complete sensory overkill. Kind of like Christmas in the States, but a little more in your face.

So, what's the meaning of all of this? Well, short summary about CNY: China follows the Lunar Calendar. The Lunar Calendar year consists of 12 months of 30-day lunar cycles. This year February 3 was Chinese New Year's Day. It's a big family gathering... migrant workers go home and bring money to their families and families celebrate a number of traditions together, including wearing certain clothes, eating certain foods and performing certain rituals.

Note about the firecrackers/fireworks: The Chinese invented gunpowder and setting off fireworks is legal here. The fifth day of Chinese New Year is the day that the firecrackers/fireworks are set off in great abundance to welcome the "God of Fortune." The Chinese go a little overboard - in hopes of having an abundant year full of monetary wealth? - and the fireworks are set off beginning at midnight and lasting to all hours of the early morning. One gets little sleep. The kids are zombies in school. It kind of stinks for the people who don't celebrate the holiday. It makes us cranky. But, hey, when in China...

Here are some CNY scenes around China. What do you think of all the red and the cartoon-character bunnies?

CNY lanterns in Yu Yuan.

They even set off firecrackers at school.

It cracked me up that the Chinese security guards lit the firecrackers with their cigarettes. Only in China!

Funny decorations... usually all about good fortune.

CNY version of a Christmas tree?

Don't really know what this is. But it was made entirely of styrofoam pieces that were glued together and then painted. Interesting...

Mascot for "Year of the Rabbit" - looks like Bugs Bunny, doesn't he? Does Hanna-Barbera know about this?

Chinese New Year decor at Carrefour (local supermarket).

Where is Christmas?

I need to catch up on trips, so here's our Christmas post.

SAWASDEE KHA (hello)! This was our first Christmas away from family and the U.S. Since we didn't want to sit around the house missing home and family, we decided to go on a really nice tropical vacation to Phuket, Thailand - our first trip out of China since we arrived in August. Well, China doesn't celebrate Christmas, and neither does Thailand - a heavily-Buddhist country. In my naivety, I just assumed that I'd see Christmas around the world as much as I do at "home." They certainly try to have Christmas for the benefit of foreigners (a large part of their business), but a plastic tree with tacky decorations just isn't doing it for me.

Back to Thailand... we stayed at the JW Marriott Phuket. It was one awesome resort. Very upscale rustic. Beautiful landscaping and gorgeous beach. A lot of people have said they didn't like the beach there, but I did. It was natural and very beautiful. No chairs or umbrellas on the beach, though, because it is a turtle nesting habitat. Very cool. We went elephant trekking and went on a boat tour of the Phi Phi (pronounced "pee pee") Islands. The Thai people are so friendly; the stellar opposite of China. We enjoyed our stay here so much, that we didn't want to leave. So we stayed an extra day. And because of that, we almost ran into some trouble. But more on that after the photos...

Beautiful resort... at night these pagodas are lit on fire.

Beautiful, unspoiled beach... where turtles nest.

Cool pool to explore.

Fake Christmas tree. Haven't seen a real one since January 2010.

Elephant trekking. Our elephant was very frisky. He was licking my back in this photo!

Phi Phi Island boat tour. A really nice day on the water.

My boys snorkeling (first time!) off Phi Phi Leh. They did awesome!

Swimming in the water off "The Beach" featured in Leonardo DiCaprio's movie of the same name.

Circus training at the resort.

A monkey on the flying trapeze.

As I mentioned, we enjoyed an extra day in Thailand and caught a flight to Bangkok on Christmas Eve. When we landed in Bangkok to connect back to Shanghai, the airline told us they could not honor our tickets because they were "non-changeable." Long story short, it was 6pm on Christmas EVE and we opted not to spend the evening in Bangkok International Airport, so we purchased new, expensive tickets back to Shanghai, vowing to make the ticket booking agency pay for making us almost miss Santa back in Shanghai. And for making my kids cry in the airport because they were so sad to be stranded on Christmas Eve. That story continues at a later date, as I am still fighting for my money back...

Phew, we made it back to Shanghai in time to beat Santa to our house. On Christmas morning, here's what we found:

Santa found us in China!

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day brunch at a hotel in Shanghai with friends!

In sum, Christmas in Shanghai wasn't very Christmas-y. I like to think I was home for Christmas in my dreams, and I was at peace with that. I have so much to be thankful for to get the chance to travel this part of the world. I do know that I won't ever take Christmas in the U.S. for granted or complain about the craziness that goes along with it, going forward. Because Christmas without our extended families made me very homesick (my first time since August!).

By the way, the answer is:  "In your heart."

A belated MERRY CHRISTMAS and PEACE ON EARTH!

The Ayi

Our former ayi, Fang Qing (Amy)

One of the perks of living as an expat in China is that labor is cheap here, real cheap. So, because of this, you can hire someone to clean your house, do your laundry, cook, shop and watch your kids for about US$400-500 per month (full time - 40 hours a week). She is called an "ayi" meaning "aunt."

Some of the benefits: I haven't done laundry or cleaned my bathroom since August. Ah, total bliss! Plus, my ayi deals with all the Chinese workers in the compound, so if something needs fixing, my ayi handles it. And, she'll answer the phone and talk to all the Chinese people that have my number and call me for various reasons (usually they are calling the wrong number). Probably the most valuable benefit to me was when we first moved to Shanghai. I was so green and didn't know anything. My ayi handled a lot for me those first few weeks and she unpacked most of our moving boxes as I was so overwhelmed I didn't know where to start!

Having an ayi also comes with a price (in addition to her salary). 1st: You have to give up your privacy. No sitting on the couch eating bon-bons. No sleeping in. No walking around the house naked. 2nd: Things will disappear. Not because they are stolen, but because they are put in the oddest places. 3rd: The ayi will touch EVERYTHING. Even when you specifically tell her not to touch something. They just can't help themselves.

For the most part, these women work really, really hard. My ayi never sits down except when she eats her lunch for 15 minutes.

They also leave. Sometimes there is just no loyalty. Today, my ayi told me she was leaving. Which is more than some other ayis do. Sometimes the ayis just don't show up on Monday. It's usually because they found another job for more money. Oh, well. I'm a business major. I get it. Competition. Money makes the world go round, right? And if I was making US$25 for a full-day's work, I'd always be looking for more money too!

Over the past few months I have figured out what my ayi needs are. And our ayi wasn't meeting them. So, fortunately for me, I was planning on finding a new ayi anyway. A part-time one. One who cooks more and cleans less, and isn't around all day. So for me, this is mutually beneficial. I didn't have to feel bad letting her go, or make Matt do it for me while I hid in my bedroom. I wish her well. Zai jian, Fang Qing!