Blogs from Shanghai, China, Asia - page 268

We spent the morning having lessons again. Btwn lessons and enrichment courses, we visited the bio lab. OKay.. it was pretty freaky seeing those stuffed animals but.. praise my guts coz i din faint nor puke. It wasnt that bad actually, just a little spooky when we first stepped in. Coz of reflection, most of my pictures came out really bad, except for this one. Er... please dun come screaming at me for cruelty to animals... it wasnt ME that did the stuffings alrite! :P We went to the library nxt but there really wasnt anything special abt it.. so... pass. We were scheduled to go to the Lu Xun Memorial Hall in the afternoon. While waiting... again... bored to death so we just took crap pics. Lu Xun Memorial Hall is pretty cool. The exhibits ... read more

friday 23 oct. 9:02 pm the approach to narita airport japan took us over a seemingly agrarian community . observing the checkered layout of the land and noticed its organic nature - how the irrregularly shaped residential areas was weaved into the rectangular patchwork plots of lland and copses of trees . from the air i could feel a sense of rural sobriety and harmony. brief stopover in japan - the somber atmosphere reminded me more of kingston airport than a so called first world transit hub......the calm comforting. after 23 hours of travelling i finally arrived in china, the fabled middle kingdom, mother of the orient. my flight was for the most part, comfortable..the northwest airline stewards in bisiness class were exceptionally pleasant and ready to serve. the space generous, the creature comforts quite ... read more

the landscape stretches out for infinity beneath me , the horizon blending into the sky and dissolving into the atmosphere. the terrain stretches out like a living thing - amoebic self propogating irregular cells and swirling ribbons of water and earth- protoplasmic. untrampled by human feet and untouched by the scarification of civilization the fringes of the tundra mesmerizes me like a prolific mushroom growing forever defying the limitations of boundaries. As enchanting as a masterpiece conceived and executd by an unknown abstract expressionist artist i float as if supported by the folds of clouds that roll beneath the cruising carapace of the 747 . i am tempted to jump, secure in the knowledge that the clouds will catch me and embrace me . And then, aaagh! suddenly, a straight line- the hand of homo ... read more

Today was my first day in Hangzhou and after dropping my bags off in Sean’s apartment, we went downtown to see the studio. It’s in one of the hottest sections of town, next to the Bently dealer, which is not far from the local Maserati dealer. If I need to buy a car, I’ll know where to shop. I can’t imagine owning a car here. At least in Shanghai, public transit is too easy. Many people I work with get around on bikes and two wheels continues to have an advantage. On Friday morning I caught a $3 cab ride for the 20 minute trip downtown. If I’d been on a bike, it wouldn’t have taken any longer. Coming back, I hopped the subway. A ticket cost 35 cents and the metro had enough English ... read more

Well we are packed and fed and about to check out and head to the Airport.We wil take the subway and then the Magnetic levitation train to whoooooosh us to the airport.Plane leaves at 13:10 (1:10 am Ottawa time) and we arrive in Ottawa after 21:00 so a very long day.We are ready to come home in some ways and regret leaving in others.China is a wonder and a marvel and wil be missed.I think that we will be back one day to check up on this eautiful world. Thanks to all our hosts and guides and friendly curious smiling faces. Bye from China... read more