We went back to the bamboo this weekend. I have stories to catch up on from the past couple weeks (including a visit from Uncle Matt and a trip to Beijing). However, this weekend's story is too good to be put on the shelf. Since Facebook is blocked in China, I'm unable to send updates via that medium, so I turned to my blog to feed my need to share. This story is about today, July 12, 2009. Mark turned 40 today. Happy birthday to Mark! We went to Moganshan for a quick getaway and to show Mark's brother, Matt the bamboo forest and to breathe the fresh air. We did some hiking, some eating, some drinking (Moganshan local beer) and had a really nice time. I used my go-to-guy for Moganshan, Dan again to arrange ... read more

We traveled a bit south on Phuket Island and reached our second hotel, Laguna Beach Resort. It's an older hotel, but was well reviewed on Tripadvisor.com and I got also got the thumbs up from my Orbitz.com advisers (I used to work there and still tap the network for travel tips whenever possible!). As I mentioned in my previous post, we were looking forward to a hotel with more families and more kids. It's amazing how the priorities change when you travel with kids. I personally could have moved into the Indigo Pearl. It is heaven on earth. But the serenity was less enticing with two boisterous (and LOUD) kids. Laguna is a great family hotel. We arrived at the room and could see the lagoon right outside our door. The resort is on a lagoon ... read more

Almost all my shopping excursions in Shanghai start with some time at the computer. I hear about places, people give me addresses without cross streets or metro stops and so I usually need to figure out where the market of the day is. Today's market was the eyeglass market. I have heard stories about this place for months, and was even given the address and yet I still started off at Google to get my info straight. After recently losing my very expensive and perfectly good prescription sunglasses, this market seemed like the answer to my prayers. Cheap and fast and also a possible story for the blog. I found some articles about the market in question but they were dated 1-2 years ago. In Shanghai, that means it's likely a store or market is either ... read more

It's been over a year since I wrote my very first blog. I'm actually amazed that I have stuck with it. My few but very loyal fans have kept me motivated with their feedback and encouragement. I am really glad I have this chronicle of the past year. Had to blog about the last couple days while it's fresh. Such good stuff. The first tidbit relates to China time. It's that phrase we who live in China hear and use but I have never before had such a classic example, so I must share. Monday, I went in search of supplies for Nathan's Market Day project. Yes, yes, it's his project so why was I going off to get stuff you might ask? Well, we live in China so I am breaking a few rules when ... read more

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 First, let me say that today was not my first time buying tea in China. Really. That's just silly. But today was a big day for me. I went to this tea market I've been wanting to visit for many months. Not sure why it took me so long, but regardless, today was the big day. I went for a walk that landed me at this market and as I walked through it, I had no idea how or where to begin. When I say tea market, I mean a series of streets and buildings fully devoted to the sale of all things tea. Inside the buildings, there are very small tea shops with tea sampling stations of various sizes and decor. Tea leaves, tea bricks (not sure if that is the ... read more