Travel Blog Posts
July 10th 2009
Bali is a place I'd always wanted to "experience", and I was lucky enough to get down there for a short week before leaving Asia. Flying on a night flight to Denpasar from Shanghai via Singapore, I arrived on this lovely island at noon on Friday, July 3. A taxi took me up into the mountains to the town of Ubud, where I spent three nights. I then had "Agung" drive me to Amed on the east coast of the island and spent another three nights there. Yesterday morning, another driver and I did the 3-hour trip down south to the airport, with a short detour to Uluwatu and Jimbaran. I returned to Shanghai last night at midnight and leave in a few hours for Paris. While lying on the beach, I had fun rereading the ... read more
June 29th 2009
On the spur of the moment, I decided to get away for my last weekend in China. My first choice was an overnight, mini-retreat in a Buddhist monastery, but that was all booked up. So I opted for a short hiking and biking tour to Moganshan with Bohdi Adventure Tours (which I’d read about in City Weekend Magazine). Here’s a description of Moganshan according to one guidebook: “Moganshan offers natural relaxation in the form of fresh air, and the pristine beauty of the mountains and the bamboo forest….In those oft-mentioned glory days of Shanghai in the early 1900s, the mountains of Moganshan were a popular summer destination. The area provides a naturally cool climate and was a great way for city dwellers to beat the scorching heat of a Shanghai summer. The area was frequented by ... read more
June 15th 2009
Yesterday was a very sad day for me. I had to say goodbye to all my little friends at the orphanage where I've been volunteering. The administration has closed it to volunteers—just as they did when there was SARS and bird flu-- for an undetermined time because of the now-declared swine flu "pandemic" in the world. Although understandable, I can’t help thinking this Chinese institution has closed in on itself, and who knows when it will again be open to "foreigners" like myself? In a way, I was fortunate because, when I explained that I was leaving China for good in just over two weeks, the woman in charge of volunteers allowed me in yesterday morning to distribute candies and the toys I’d bought for the playroom. I had to wear a face mask and I ... read more
June 7th 2009
Last week was the “Dragon Boat Festival” in China. I won’t be showing you any photos of dragon boat races here because I --along with thousands if not millions of Chinese people, as well as foreign tourists and residents-- left Shanghai for a long weekend. I chose to go to the Guilin area of Guangxi province in southern China, where I stayed in Yangshuo and Ping’an. How nice it was to see green vegetation, rivers and mountains again!. Although I love living in Shanghai, you do suffer from the pollution and lack of “nature” in such a sprawling metropolis. The Dragon Boat Festival was outlawed in mainland China by the communist government after 1949 but was re-established in 2008. According to my Taiwanese friends, it’s not as much celebrated on mainland China as in Taiwan or ... read more
May 18th 2009
My friend Sylvie from Paris came to visit me for 10 days. It was really fun having her here --she was my first, and will probably be my only--houseguest in Shanghai, since I'm leaving in 6 weeks, and no one else has said they were coming. We had a great time exploring this vibrant city. Have a look at the photos, where I've added captions and comments. Sylvie left last Friday morning. The final photos are of some of my activities since she left: a talk I gave at the Shanghai Community Center on Friday afternoon; eyeing a wedding party from the windows of my apartment on Saturday; and attending a "vernissage" (opening of an art exhibit) on Sunday afternoon. My teaching at the French School ends on July 3. I'm hoping to travel somewhere in ... read more
May 10th 2009
From April 26 till May 2 , I traveled to Tibet with the Cercle Francophone de Shanghai. There were 29 of us, all French-speaking, including 3 teenagers, one of whom is in my 8th grade class at the French School of Shanghai! Our first 36 hours were spent traveling. On the morning of April 26, we flew to Xining in western China and spent 6 hours there visiting the city before boarding the Beijing-Lhassa train at 8:30 PM. that evening. 24 hours later we arrived in Lhassa. (It takes 50 hours from Beijing!). The night on board went okay, but the daytime travel was a bit long and “cramped”. Several of my group had altitude sickness, with vomiting and difficulty in breathing. Using oxygen seemed to help them, as did Diamox pills or the Chinese herb ... read more
May 5th 2009
Before describing my trip to Tibet, I thought I'd add a few more photos of Shanghai. The first ones are of the new Yangshan deep-water port located south of Shanghai, which I visited with a group from the Cercle Francophone the day before leaving for Tibet. According to Wikepedia, this mammoth port was "built to circumvent growth limitations for the Port of Shanghai as a result of shallow waters...and is capable of handling the largest container ships today. The port achieves this by building on the offshore islands of Greater and Lesser Yangshan (part of the Zhoushan archipelago), which have been amalgamated by land reclamation and connected to the mainland via the Donghai Bridge, the latter of which was opened on 1 December 2005 as the third-longest bridge in the world at 32.5 km in length." ... read more
April 23rd 2009
Spring has definitely come to Shanghai. The leaves of the trees are out; and we're wearing cotton and sandals and having drinks in outdoor cafes. Here are some photographic scenes that show what Ive been up to and/or observing since my return from Paris two weeks ago. Next week I'm off to Tibet with members of a local French association ("le Cercle Francophone de Shanghai".) Am really looking forward to the trip. And on Saturday, April 25, on the day before leaving for Tibet, I'm going on an all-day excursion with the same group to the new, "deep", port of Shanghai. Photos will follow shortly. ... read more
April 9th 2009
I returned to Shanghai on April 8 after a marvelous week in Paris attending my son Sebastien's wedding. He and Aurelia were married on Saturday, April 4 by the mayor of the town of Les Ulis who also just happens to be Aurelia's mother! Sebastien's "witnesses" at the Town Hall were his brothers Eric (back from Oregon) and Marc (back from Quebec City). About 160 people were there, including Sébastien's father (my ex-husband Rémi) and his wife, as well as members of the Kaiser clan; Aurelia's family; and numerous friends of the bride and groom. My father and brother were unable to attend, but my cousin Jack from Colorado came over just for the wedding, and we were all delighted to have him there. The reception following the 5 PM ceremony took place on a barge ... read more
March 20th 2009
Greetings from Phuket, an island on the southwestern coast of Thailand that was hard-hit by the December 26, 2004 tsunami and where many people perished. Today, it has mostly been rebuilt and the tourist industry is flourishing. Real estate development also seems to still be going strong, despite the global economic crisis. Although I'd been to Thailand before, it was to Bangkok and the north, including to Chiang Mai, but never to this "island paradise", as some call it. Inga, my young German friend from Shanghai and I came down here for a week's holiday and booked a hotel in Kata Beach through a Chinese tour operator. Kata Beach, where we stayed, is south of Patong and quite touristy. The "main drag" has loads of souvenir and clothing shops, restaurants and massage parlors. Prices are much ... read more
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