http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/OJ/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from OJ en-us Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:53:14 +0000 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:53:14 +0000 A couple of weeks ago I went on a business trip to Beijing to take advantage of the opportunity I brought Jen and we extended our stay for several days after my meetings so we could see the city and all it has to offer. We left Shanghai out of Hongqiao Airport which is about a 20 minute cab ride from our hotel...a much closer drive than Pudong Airport which was where we arrived when we first http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-340782.html Firstly I should apologize for not having updated this blog in a couple of weeks. As we all know when things get very busy in one part of your life especially work you start sacrificing time you would have otherwise spent engaging in personal activities whether it's spending time with loved ones exercise or....writing in blogs. The last four weeks were primarily spent working both in im http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-328069.html I've successfully completed week 1 in my new job and weekend 3 in Shanghai. I even learned two new things just on the walk to work Lesson 1 if you choose to wear a wool business suit in Shanghai during the summer make sure you bring a towel. Alternatively phrased don't wear a wool business suit in Shanghai during the summer. The temperature might feel fine when you first walk out the doo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-318543.html Shanghai is a city that has quite a bit of history with Westerners. It was a major trading port and in the early 1900s there was a sizeable population of them including Brits Americans Germans French and White Russians who fled the Bolsheviks during the Russian revolution. As you've seen in a few of my entries over the last week you can really see evidence of the days of preCommunist Shan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-316368.html Saturday we went to the Jade Buddha Temple which was built in the early 1900s according to the architectural style of the Song dynasty. It's a fullyfunctioning temple complete with resident Buddhist monks who conduct services and otherwise go about their business with the tourists watching. We went at a good time in the morning when there weren't so many tourists and we were given the ful http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-315469.html Today was a bit more of a laid back day now that we're starting to get pretty comfortable with our surroundings. We needed to pick up some groceries at that store I told you about a few days ago so we decided to have a look at some of the stores on Nanjing Road West before we bought our food and went home. As we all know one of the big underlying stories of the Olympics is China's hope to show t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-315248.html Despite the heat of Thursday we decided to venture a bit outside our immediate neighbourhood and check out the Yuyuan Gardens. The gardens were built about 500 years ago by an aristocrat from Sichuan Province. It was an amazing collection of traditional Chinese architecture art watereroded rock sculptures which seem to be very popular decorative pieces here and peaceful pools of koi who I http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-314951.html Now that we're starting to get used to the sweltering heat of Shanghai we went for our longest walk yet. Nanjing Road East is a pedestrian street that is one of the busiest of its kind in the world it has thousands of shops millions of people and a whole lot of street hawkers shouting Hey mister hey lady wanna buy a watch. The road goes for a couple of kilometers and ends at the Bund w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-314816.html Tuesday was a day of getting to know our neighbourhood. Before leaving though we checked out the gym in our building....and decided we definitely need to join a local external gym. Check out the photos.So firstly we walked down to the Peoplersquos Square also known as Renmin Square which is just a couple of blocks south of our hotel. By now wersquore starting to be able to walk slightly http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-314807.html Monday was a good day. Didn't start out that way but it definitely ended with stories to tell.First off this was the morning where we were supposed to have our medical exam. Everyone coming to China has to undergo one as they are extremely cautious about anybody entering the country with an infectious disease. Back when we filled out our visa application forms at the Chinese consulate in To http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-314424.html Well as you saw from the last posting we've arrived safely in Shanghai. Sunday was another day of getting settled in which included getting to know our neighbourhood and getting set up with mobile phones. At this point we're still jetlagged beyond belief and I think we passed out around dinnertime on Saturday evening only to wake up around 330am on Sunday. Why fight it So we woke up and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-314057.html Today is my third full day in China and we've been busy getting settled into our new temporary home. For those who don't know we refers to my partner in both travels and in life named Jen. I'm sure you'll see lots of her in various photos. I'm really grateful she's able to come with me to China because I don't think it'd be nearly as much fun alone.In any case I'll try to summarize our http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-313721.html So this is the first in what I'm hoping will be multiple entries into this travelblog....it's great to hear how many people at home are interested in hearing how this adventure in China goes so I thought the best way to share my experiences is through this site. I definitely welcome feedback on it and anyone who has questions or suggestions for me is definitely encouraged to post here. I've never http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-313714.html