china: final day

i apologize to those of you who may have been checking my blog periodically in the hopes of finding a new and interesting piece from my china trip! i had the best intentions when i started blogging again, but unfortunately they fell to the wayside...so again, i apologize.

this trip has been incredible! i will be posting some pictures on facebook so you can get a visual of what the places below look like. i would post them here now, but my bags are all packed and my pictures are somewhere in one of my suitacases!

so, over these three weeks, i have stayed in shanghai, visited beijing, and hangzhou. some highlights:

shanghai -- the modern city

• shaoxing park -- tucked away in the French Concession, it was filled with seniors just hanging out, playing mah jong and exercising on the public exercise machines
  
• yu yuen gardens -- lots of pagodas, caves, very lush, beautiful gardens in the middle of the city
  
• going up to the 88th floor of the jin mao to get a view of the city -- unfortunately, the smog clouded most of the view, but it was still worth it!
• dinner at y's table -- a set menu of fancy but delicious japanese food
• century park

beijing -- the historic city

• the sleeper train
  
• temple of heaven
• hongqaio pearl market -- a tip for anyone travelling to beijing who likes to shop and a good bargain - do not miss the silk and pearl markets. bargain hard, and if you don't like the price they give you, just walk away. more often than not, the price will plummet.
• the great wall -- this was phenomenal.
  
• visiting mao

hangzhou -- the lush, scenic city

• biking around west lake and through lanes of traffic

tonight, i sleep my last night in shanghai and tomorrow, i ride the maglev (google it, it's awesome) to the airport and i'm back in the air for fourteen hours before that sweet touchdown.

china, it's been interesting and eyeopening, thanks for the good times. until we meet again.

shanghai adventure: day four

shanghai is totally kicking my butt. although i suppose it could also be the remains of jet lag combined with an injection of unusual amounts of daily walking (approx 4 hours daily)...here's how the last few days have been: wake up at 5/6am, can't fall back asleep, get off the bed, get out of the house, explore/have adventures, tired by early evening (we're talkin 6/7pm), bed before 10...

but, not to leave you without anything, find below a photo of the shanghai sculpture park. it's tucked away behind all of the busyness of the city and is a lovely serene, peaceful place. i stayed there for almost two hours this morning..! surrounding the park are a multitude of galleries and other art institutions. though modern, it has a similar feel to that of the distillery district in toronto. it's a great space and shanghai continues to amaze me with their ability to create such serenity amidst the hustle and bustle of the city...

shanghai adventure: day one.

it's 5:58am and i can't sleep anymore...i will probably regret this later on this afternoon. the weather is warm, but also humid and a bit sticky. the city is amazing -- the roads are extremely well organized, bikes, cars, taxis all have their place. they've got tons of elevated roads, and are constantly building more. (people who hate on the gardiner won't know what to do over here) the food is delicious and inexpensive -- so far i've had shanghaiese dumplings and hot pot, both scrumptious. to give a point of reference, 24 dumplings and a dumpling soup costs about $5 and it was enough for 3 people to eat and be full. people do stare, but depending on the situation i smile or pretend i don't notice them.

the shanghai subway at its non-peak hours is like the ttc at rush hour -- i don't want to know what rush hour is like! i've been advised by many to keep close watch of my purse, especially on the trains as those are the playgrounds of pickpockets. pudong is incredible -- the streets are wide boulevards with trees and shrubs all around. the sidewalks are massive - it's hard to feel crowded in a space like this. the shanghai train station is busy -- all the time. the building is enormous. just outside the train station is a huge square, it's just open space where people mill about, catch the bus, grab a bite to eat...what's even better is that underneath the square is where you can get a taxi! instead of standing on the road trying to flag one down, just head down the escalator under the square, and there, neatly organized you will find taxis waiting on their next passengers.

last night i went to the french concession -- we walked along huai hi road. along this street were all the names i recognized from home: adidas, zara, sephora, h&m, rolex, essentially any store that you would imagine to be a 'global' brand. this street is quite swanky with its lights in the trees, well manicured shrubs, and old but well maintained buildings. there are so many things to write about, so many things to say, and while it's hard to describe everything i see, i will attempt to record this adventure as best i can. stay tuned.

first signs of fall...

end of summer 2008.

september 2nd. it's the tuesday after labour day and i'm at home. it's a little weird, to be honest. the first september without school. i know i've longed for this day to come, but now that it's here, i'm not quite sure what to make of it!

in other news -i had quite an eventful weekend.

saturday afternoon i headed to st.lawrence market with rita. we walked around, took in the sights and sounds - it was her first time there, but it was a nice introductory visit. i purchased some haitian and guatemalan coffee from the coffee/tea shop downstairs - i'm looking forward to brewing a cup! later that evening i met up with my bro and we went for korean. i had tak-gal-be (sp?) for the first time and it was quite delish. i just may return someday. i called up the parents who were in oakville and i suggested that they come down to high park to see the canstage production with matt and i. so, we made it a family event and saw canstage's production of 'a midsummer nights dream' in high park on saturday night, and as usual, i was pleased. the show was entertaining and wonderful. there's something to be said for outdoor theatre, under the night sky in the cool of evening.

sunday morning i headed to church, then made my way back up home where i found myself in the kitchen for a while! i made some oven fried chicken, baba ghannouj (yes, from scratch - it's so yummy), and some cale. i got a call from the parentals who were heading down to queen's park to see the trinidad independence celebration - i thought it would be a good time, so i met them there and enjoyed some pan and a little dancing :) post queen's park we went to the little italy festival - i was kind of disappointed, it wasn't anything too special. there were some stages where people were singing (only one stage had italian songs), there were cne type games, vendors etc. it was alright. sunday night and monday i hung out with shanghe and iris (respectively) and we had a great time as usual. but now, not only is the weekend over, but the summer is over and i'm trying to figure out what to do with myself.

as my next moves become clear, i'll keep you posted.

my apartment update

view from the balcony looking to the front door

view from the front door looking to the balcony

and that's it so far! the last thing to do is to put up pictures on the walls and maybe get a few plants to green the place up. other than that, i'm pretty well all settled!

my new place :)

this is essentially it. it's just enough space, though the kitchen and bathroom are relatively big considering it is a bachelor. those pics may follow at some point.