tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84318150587345128962024-03-12T20:41:16.401-07:00Around the WorldAndy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-39652252350590554182015-08-24T07:46:00.000-07:002015-08-25T08:48:55.902-07:00Flood at SSIS!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkwtOAsyVz5Vgdsoezq_NhnkrxtTHjeJXtJQ3GvzMFRYoCPHBA9CCiWXaOBoC7BLBjTCRjN78rpCZrOaoB1J_XeMZWMrVBwveSKTvR95wUu3XZM3pGcHaCyncsy-WK0ZcOC2o48ni6eM/s1600/IMG_2620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkwtOAsyVz5Vgdsoezq_NhnkrxtTHjeJXtJQ3GvzMFRYoCPHBA9CCiWXaOBoC7BLBjTCRjN78rpCZrOaoB1J_XeMZWMrVBwveSKTvR95wUu3XZM3pGcHaCyncsy-WK0ZcOC2o48ni6eM/s320/IMG_2620.JPG" width="320" /></a>It has been too long since I posted. I have a couple unfinished drafts of posts that I just couldn't find the words or motivation to finish. One is about the results of the Marathon that I ran over 3 months ago.<br />
<br />
Since then I have had a summer vacation relaxing in Canada as well as a switch of apartments. Today was the first day of school of my second school year in Shanghai at Shanghai Singapore International School (SSIS) and here is the eventful story:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLjJcDRM8dvf9OoQYF8nSwuhD44SY5YiQ5NlLWx3VGplVoeXCumIOs0iYXJgEFg_U3UffoZLRaHEonfYgxWlugJZH8lMNjvX2S_8yKXWIMpm_GUhTStPgoNrnEIPYVJj6scR7wigtbWc/s1600/IMG_2623.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPLjJcDRM8dvf9OoQYF8nSwuhD44SY5YiQ5NlLWx3VGplVoeXCumIOs0iYXJgEFg_U3UffoZLRaHEonfYgxWlugJZH8lMNjvX2S_8yKXWIMpm_GUhTStPgoNrnEIPYVJj6scR7wigtbWc/s320/IMG_2623.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
As I was falling
asleep last night, it was raining quite heavily. I woke up through the
night and could hear the rain. It sounded like a water fall and my
windows were closed! So it was quite loud. When my alarm went off at
6:45 am it was still raining very heavily.<br />
<br />
I decided I
might be better off wearing my flip flops to school and bringing socks
and shoes. I did not need those shoes to get wet and I didn't want to
have wet shoes and socks at school all day. It ended up being a great decision. I
walked down my 6 flights of stairs, and when I opened the door I was
ankle high in water.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
As I waddled to my bus stop the water
level began to drop, so things seemed okay. Once I exited my compound to
wait for my bus, however, the water was almost up to my knees. I had
to roll my pant legs up in order to wade through the water to the bus
stop. Our discussion on the bus was about how we could expect students
to be late.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxr_EWRsDxMbGvEuuUGi_-peRoISU6p-iTUy0l5LqVf0bNm-HXOrdUp_w9hjUjySVbzKjkBXtqLR3gQfLtD2uQsL1c9OtGgRkxiZ-qFiWA313UpDHcnigFa3tKdndfaIm-Uy6GCcotoL4/s1600/IMG_2622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxr_EWRsDxMbGvEuuUGi_-peRoISU6p-iTUy0l5LqVf0bNm-HXOrdUp_w9hjUjySVbzKjkBXtqLR3gQfLtD2uQsL1c9OtGgRkxiZ-qFiWA313UpDHcnigFa3tKdndfaIm-Uy6GCcotoL4/s320/IMG_2622.JPG" width="320" /></a>The school lobby was dry when I entered the
school and I used the elevator to get to my classroom on the third
floor. I went to my classroom, put on my dress shoes and checked my
email. Normally I would need to pick my students up at 830, but being
the first day of school I needed to greet them a little early. Well,
that never happened! <br />
<br />
Just as I was thinking of going to
pick them up, up came a handful of students from various grade levels.
The lobby was full of water we were informed so students were being
directed to their classes.<br />
<br />
What a way to start the first
day of school. Instead of practicing the habit and routine of walking up
the stairs as a class I had students trickling in one at a time,
minutes and minutes apart depending on their bus. It was a little
chaotic. As students trickled upstairs, water levels in the lobby began
to rise. Soon some of the stairs were completely
submerged in water. <br />
<br />
Teachers, Heads of Departments and
other staff were wandering the halls passing on messages and whispering
about how school might be cancelled. Our meeting in the auditorium got
cancelled. Instead the principals were meeting to discuss what would
happen.<br />
<br />
Mean while, in my Grade 2 Amber class, I started
trying to start teaching the routines of the classroom as best as I
could. People kept knocking on the door interrupting to give me an
update about what was happening. It was eventually decided that the
students would be sent home at 11 o clock, 4 and a half hours early.
Further, school would even be cancelled tomorrow as they needed to get
rid of the water and assess the safety of the school.<br />
<br />
Putting
the students on the buses invited a new kind of chaos. The normal bus
lines in the lobby was not an option to organize them. Instead, they
needed to line up in the kindergarten's thin hallways. We were trying to
fit over 150 students into a hallway that already had teachers and
kindergarten children.<br />
<br />
I didn't see how these students got
to their actual buses, but I did see pictures of other teachers carrying
some students to their buses. In some areas of the school the water
would have certainly been over some of these children's heads!<br />
<br />
I
got to work calling parents and informing them their children were on
their way home and that school was cancelled tomorrow. We may have to
make tomorrow up on another day, like a Saturday unfortunately.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-81031711515522211342015-03-24T06:06:00.004-07:002015-03-24T06:06:49.938-07:00Big Bus Tours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSneh6tvGzASEgIcxFw0QTUqziKiaH-Wn9XrmLi31xaZ-iThS8W1bx-4QMPod4hfkxwH2fSruht_N3iqfY-hrkqHAoy5cQJXQAj_Z1nywo59eaVhS2jqWN6bz_RSb-1LUWcDH6-miHSA/s1600/800px-Big_Bus_Company_10-5-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSneh6tvGzASEgIcxFw0QTUqziKiaH-Wn9XrmLi31xaZ-iThS8W1bx-4QMPod4hfkxwH2fSruht_N3iqfY-hrkqHAoy5cQJXQAj_Z1nywo59eaVhS2jqWN6bz_RSb-1LUWcDH6-miHSA/s1600/800px-Big_Bus_Company_10-5-07.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_310710944"></span><span id="goog_310710945"></span>Big Bus Tours are tours that a variety of cities offer that allow you to get on and off the bus whenever you like. They stop and pick people up at the different attractions throughout the city. The buses are double-decker, with the option of sitting outside on the top deck.<br />
<br />
I have done a tour with this company twice, and overall they were good. Especially because the trips I took were small trips. They gave me the chance to choose what to do as I went.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The two cities I did the tour with were Dubai and Hong Kong. Both of these are kind of similar places. They are tall cities and seem to compete with each other in that regard.<br />
<br />
The first one I did was in Dubai. The bus tour in Dubai was much better than Hong Kong for a couple reasons. First, the timing. When I went to Hong Kong it was days into the 'Umbrella Revolution' so some of the area were blocked off and part of the bus route had to be d toured.<br />
<br />
That was really out of the Big Bus Tour's control, but the other feature that Dubai stood out in was not out of control. It was with the night tour that both cities offered. In Hong Kong, it was the same as the day tour, just at night. The same recording playing over and over again with the background being the lights of Hong Kong.<br />
<br />
In Dubai, they had a real tour guide who was on the bus and talked about the different aspects of the city. He was funny and much better than listening to a recording we had already heard throughout the day.<br />
<br />
A lot of the things the tour guide talked about were things the city of Dubai seemed to be in competition with Hong Kong. Things like the world's tallest group of buildings, the stretch of buildings that are the tallest, Dubai's future building plans that will break some of Hong Kong's current records and so on. A lot of things I frankly found a little meaningless.<br />
<br />
The night tour in Dubai also included a light and laser show that we were able to watch when the tour was on a break. It was actually quite good. I found it much more entertaining than the light and music show we saw along the water in Hong Kong.<br />
<br />
I would recommend the Big Bus Tour on a short trip as the bus takes you to the places a tourist wants to see the most in the city. Shanghai has a Big Bus Tour, but because I have all the time in the world here, I will just use the stops as a guide and go on my own time. <br />
<br />
My next couple posts will look at both of these cities.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-61857803140471618632015-03-15T05:57:00.000-07:002015-03-15T06:02:29.678-07:00Marathon Training It has been a busy couple weeks since I returned from Canada. This is why I haven't updated the blog in nearly a month. As soon as I got back to school I had a lot of deadlines to meet for report cards among other things a 2 week vacation gets you behind in.<br />
<br />
Plus, as mentioned in this whole post I have been dedicating my spare time to running!<br />
<br />
******************************************************************************** <br />
As I mentioned in my post about the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2015/01/aqi.html">AQI</a>, I decided to run a marathon on The Great Wall in Beijing. The race will be May 16th, and since I made the decision I have continued to take steps to make this happen.<br />
<br />
The first step was find someone to run the marathon with. <br />
<a name='more'></a>A grade one teaching colleague liked the idea and jumped on board right away. After that, we started training, often together. We both found a beginners website for marathon training that had a recommended 16 week schedule. This was perfect because at the time we were still over 16 weeks away and it gave us the opportunity to warm ourselves up to running. We also needed to decide on if we wanted to do a 10km run, a half marathon or the full one.<br />
<br />
We opted for the full one. Go big or go home is what I have been saying. <br />
<br />
The next step was to pay for the actual race. Once we reached this point, there was no turning back! The marathon cost us over $300, which is kind of steep, but given we will also be on one of the seven wonders of the world, we felt the hit was worth it. When else will we have this chance?<br />
<br />
The running regimen has been going good so far. Paul--the grade 1 teacher--and I have been doing a good job at following the schedule for the most part. We have been pushing each other as well, making sure the other does not slack off.<br />
<br />
The hardest part was finding the time during Chinese New Year (which was the last two weeks of February). It was also difficult given that Paul remained in China while I returned home to Canada. The air pollution was non existent in Canada but the temperature was quite cold. I guess that was the trade off. I initially thought there was no chance I'd be running outside.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNl2jc7MaXJA46Tprmaj9M-9Te75z_sMVKpJNXhJ5WF3rgt2lyGTRS38Y2kAC5GDVn2o6kymR6YKCBWNiVsXOBiNg3zFL0RrGsv78J7XmADSGXLgJdzHLYK_9K2sdp4J0dqgiQSG1Y9U/s1600/P1010008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNl2jc7MaXJA46Tprmaj9M-9Te75z_sMVKpJNXhJ5WF3rgt2lyGTRS38Y2kAC5GDVn2o6kymR6YKCBWNiVsXOBiNg3zFL0RrGsv78J7XmADSGXLgJdzHLYK_9K2sdp4J0dqgiQSG1Y9U/s1600/P1010008.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>As time went on however, I realized if I didn't run outside I may not be able to run at all for a few days. I did not have a gym with a treadmill easily at my disposal like I do in Shanghai. So on one of the warmer day (and by warmer I mean not -20, just -10) I bit the bullet and ran outside. I was at my sisters house and pulled on my winter boots and put on a hoody with sweat pants. I warmed up inside and left my coat inside as well. I ran about 8km outside and felt great. Nothing like fresh air entering my lungs while running!<br />
<br />
I ran a couple more times while home through the snow and cold. All were in different places. The longest run was in Oakville Ontario and I ended up by a lighthouse. The ground there was icy so I had to be careful. The wind was also wicked so my ears became quite cold. I ran roughly 16kms that day and about 14kms the week before in Watford.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3yG7LN4qHyAz7rv_VzcQ7wzWh7yd3h4ZVf1Zet2rjOzobgMsUW4BpRSQkcRtsyGOXUFvXcZjefRb4OHvA211ZQx8mL4yb0x3ba_H_SX5YLY-Krmff0ilXjw_Ps9H2MWtDB3M9lUrBys/s1600/IMG_1941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3yG7LN4qHyAz7rv_VzcQ7wzWh7yd3h4ZVf1Zet2rjOzobgMsUW4BpRSQkcRtsyGOXUFvXcZjefRb4OHvA211ZQx8mL4yb0x3ba_H_SX5YLY-Krmff0ilXjw_Ps9H2MWtDB3M9lUrBys/s1600/IMG_1941.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Last weekend Paul and I entered a 10KM race at Binjiang park. It's in the north east corner of the city on the coast of the Pacific Ocean at an estuary. It took nearly 2 hours to get there by foot, metro and then taxi. We ran with 2 other colleagues, Richard a high school math teacher and Lara the primary ICT teacher.<br />
<br />
We were supposed to run about 18KM that weekend but instead decided to enter the race. Since we were only running a little more than half our scheduled race, I decided to challenge ourselves and try to run the 10 ks in 45 minutes. This meant we needed to run every km around 15 seconds faster than what our average pace was. 4 minutes 30 seconds was the target pace.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhfXM9njOBkPm0r6Is9t4dfZxsvOoIB7tvlFTAeQ652l_-7L7gSoUe1BNUvQqF7eRddFaZscIFX4b3bzK_DT8NfUAQ8F1-5jej-VVt9HkVgiouVX8jPa6qFPgi4B_Sc4qFvNnULUuEsY/s1600/P1010012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhfXM9njOBkPm0r6Is9t4dfZxsvOoIB7tvlFTAeQ652l_-7L7gSoUe1BNUvQqF7eRddFaZscIFX4b3bzK_DT8NfUAQ8F1-5jej-VVt9HkVgiouVX8jPa6qFPgi4B_Sc4qFvNnULUuEsY/s1600/P1010012.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Race day was very clear pollution wise for Shanghai, but that is where the pleasantries of the day ended. It was cold and it was rainy. Some of the path we were running on was slippery as well.<br />
<br />
It was still a great day. Unfortunately we didn't reach the target of 45 minutes. We have a number of excuses--the weather, sudden turns, slippery paths, rocks across creeks--but at the end of the day we weren't fast enough. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2f-3TPUcXGLVtKk9ai_ZOPcvwbl-Ok1jillx4MSOI_xaLzx9-tYo4w3SYi627Q6CbO3mye9H1paZJ9GgwqWfE66nhfTpHtxOvQYULB1ZH5bpbNxDN11brbuGi1NANiMPjesI2nAI8qU/s1600/P1010014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW2f-3TPUcXGLVtKk9ai_ZOPcvwbl-Ok1jillx4MSOI_xaLzx9-tYo4w3SYi627Q6CbO3mye9H1paZJ9GgwqWfE66nhfTpHtxOvQYULB1ZH5bpbNxDN11brbuGi1NANiMPjesI2nAI8qU/s1600/P1010014.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
Paul led the way and I struggled to keep up most of the race. Once we got to 8km I realized that we were not on pace and found deep inside I had another gear, so I sped up. I managed to run the last couple KMs faster, but not fast enough. I finished the race around 48 minutes (the actual race time has not been posted so I don't have it) with Paul not too far behind me.<br />
<br />
Earlier this week when I ran 8km my exact pace was 4 minutes and 30 seconds!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-73466690911240385412015-02-16T21:02:00.002-08:002015-02-16T21:02:51.652-08:00Chinese New YearThe school is currently on a 2 week break to celebrate Spring festival, or better known as Chinese New Year. This is the festival celebrating the calendar year changing. It is also called Lunar New Year.<br />
<br />
When I was in Korea they called it Solar New Year, among other things. It is usually the same day, except once every 24 years based on the moon.<br />
<br />
In China, this year is the year of the goat. Some traditional things that happen during CNY are lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes. There are always fire crackers firing in Shanghai, but there were certainly more firing leading up to the big celebration. The teachers also pooled some money for the bus driver as well as the cleaners and this money was placed into a red envelope.<br />
<br />
I flew home on Saturday, which is part of the reason this post is short and late.<br />
<br />
My Saturday went like this:<br />
<br />
7:30 Woke up.<br />
8:30 Ran 13 KM.<br />
10:00 Finish packing up.<br />
11:30 Walk to the metro to catch line 9. Take line 9 to line 2 and transfer. Take line 2 to the fast train. Get on the fast train to the airport.<br />
13:00 Arrive at the airport, 3 hours before my flight.<br />
13:30 Find an empty check in desk only to find out my flight have been delayed 4 hours.<br />
14:00 Eat at Starbucks.<br />
15:00 Finally check in.<br />
15:50 Check time, see my plane should have been leaving. Continue to kill time, including eating again, this time at Burger King.<br />
19:30 Finally board the plane<br />
21:00 Arrive in Toronto (having also traveled to a time difference of 13 hours)<br />
<br />
I'm still attempting to get over jet lag.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Last Thursday the children did a Chinese New Year festival.Here is a small snapshot of it:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/o7hDTU1k-Sg/0.jpg" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o7hDTU1k-Sg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-7746995848757753682015-02-08T04:12:00.000-08:002015-02-08T04:21:49.197-08:00Biking Through Shanghai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5S8bwI6dVJtRsVf0SVkN0a702fel_qbinY_FWCZOhh98Lxl_zsGTyvbiGe2dP6btHCZlvx1ZLSbGg4b6bJZAsQLS6c7wW99cnISfpwKuIfLtrm2JzQVxMWD2uSCJvveDJo619d9Avz_U/s1600/IMG_1674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5S8bwI6dVJtRsVf0SVkN0a702fel_qbinY_FWCZOhh98Lxl_zsGTyvbiGe2dP6btHCZlvx1ZLSbGg4b6bJZAsQLS6c7wW99cnISfpwKuIfLtrm2JzQVxMWD2uSCJvveDJo619d9Avz_U/s1600/IMG_1674.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt;
mso-header-margin:35.4pt;
mso-footer-margin:35.4pt;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span id="goog_716861887"></span><span id="goog_716861888"></span>One of my favourite things about living in
this city is biking. As I mentioned in a prior post about the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2014/12/shanghai-roads.html">Shanghai roads</a>,
there are special bike lanes set up for the different smaller modes of
transportation. These are not limited to bicycles. In fact bicycles are
probably the minority. There are motorcycles, mopeds and various other electric
hybrids.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I wouldn’t want to use these lanes with
anything other than a bicycle. Not because they wouldn’t be fun, I’d just
prefer to get the exercise that you can only get from a bicycle. Shanghai is
really flat, so just a standard bike is needed. No need for a mountain bike.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<a name='more'></a>A lot of people rely on their bikes daily, even during the cold and or wet weather. There are all kinds of blankets and ponchos that people use to stay comfortable riding in unpleasant weather. People use their bikes to transport items like cardboard and Styrofoam. Often these bikes are used as a way to make a living. Most food delivery is also done on a bike from the bike lane. At times the bike lanes are faster than cars because of traffic. I have been stuck in bike traffic a fair share of times however.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US">Michelle and I first bought our bikes at
the beginning of October. The weather was still very pleasant at that
time,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so going for bike rides was a fun
adventure. Now the weather is colder so the rides are not as fun. They are still enjoyable, it just takes more ambition to actually go on them. I'm sure having to have my bike adventures alone now takes away from the adventure.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We did have some great rides and I am sure as the weather warms up I will be more inclined to once again have some longer rides. We rode to our favourite frozen yogurt place in Xujiahui, about 14 kilometres away a couple of times, as well as for dinner slightly closer. We also rode our bikes to <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2014/11/peoples-square-and-bund.html">the Bund</a>, about 18 kilometres away.<br />
<br />
The ride is really fun because you get to see everything on the way, at a slower speed than in a taxi. On one of our first rides, we were coming home in the dark only to see someone shooting off fireworks above the building in the direction we were biking to.<br />
<br />
On another long trip there was an old man on his bike and we became obsessed with going faster than him. He was going at an okay speed, but it wasn't too difficult to pass him and fly down the road. We'd get stopped at a traffic light and just as it was time to go he'd go through the intersection, at his top speed. We'd race past him again only to have him pass us when we were waiting at the next red light.<br />
<br />
Bikes don't seem to have the same rules on the road as cars. They can go a little before the light turns green and can even go through red lights if they time it perfectly and choose the perfect instant when there is a gap in the cars. This old man we were 'racing' seemed to have that timing down perfectly. He also must have had the timing on the lights down too. He seemed to know when to keep pace and when to lay off a little so he didn't get stuck stopped at a traffic light.<br />
<br />
I have tried to emulate this old man on my biking adventures since. It isn't that hard to do because most of the traffic lights come with a timer. It tells you how long before the light changes. Kind of like the timers back home on the pedestrian crossing signs. These timers allow you to know how long you have before the light will change so you can adjust your speed from a distance accordingly. This man seemed to have it down to an art form.<br />
<br />
Before moving to Shanghai I talked to a friend who told me the first thing I should do is get a bike. He then told me to expect the bike to be stolen at least once. I'm glad I took his advice and got a bike as it seems to have endless opportunities for adventures. I also am very aware exactly where I am in the city because I've navigated around it far more than I ever did in other cities I have lived in (although I had a bike in Kuwait and was also quite used to my area from walking and biking it so frequently).<br />
<br />
My friend was correct on both accounts. I locked my bike up at the metro one day and went into the city. When I returned the bike was gone. I still look for it at the metro, but with no luck. Luckily for me I have a spare, but I really hope it doesn't go missing.<br />
<br />
I recently had the idea of buying an armband for my iPhone and strapping it to the basket on my bike. Then I used the time lapsed picture feature on the camera to take a picture every few seconds during my ride to the Carre Four just down the road and to the right. The video below is of me riding to the shopping centre. I plan to take longer ones in the future, to provide an idea of what biking in Shanghai is like.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span lang="EN-US"> </span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dynD9P_rXxid9gtNNHgMiHl5pKDrMfjCdeYwRIWJ3qPLONIdRNBhz5cr9JYqBTlNCg34vpmgB17_hpS6zX2ug' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-432186624744168072015-02-01T04:22:00.001-08:002015-02-03T03:23:29.163-08:00The Summer Palace<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt;
mso-header-margin:35.4pt;
mso-footer-margin:35.4pt;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj309u2sbMMVEGKB1Xfs26NyBwdnPCtL3f5UodXCS5-l4xzoRU4u3cDtbM1Ju8tCFjuw-sLwXl6zWhd1ghePszFw45CvPE13wzKYBAJ24yM4Uq4wMzbNjViMLCNx2U95vrcq7m-tntAdsY/s1600/P1010097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj309u2sbMMVEGKB1Xfs26NyBwdnPCtL3f5UodXCS5-l4xzoRU4u3cDtbM1Ju8tCFjuw-sLwXl6zWhd1ghePszFw45CvPE13wzKYBAJ24yM4Uq4wMzbNjViMLCNx2U95vrcq7m-tntAdsY/s1600/P1010097.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> After the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2015/01/forbidden-city.html">Forbidden City</a> I headed back to my hostel, grabbed something to eat and then hopped on the subway again to get to the Summer Palace.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-US"> The Summer Palace is in the North West part
of the city, outside the outer ring metro line. It was about a 50 minute metro
ride.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It is another palace that seems to be
surrounded by city, but once you enter the walls it has a much different feel.
As you walk deeper, beyond the first couple buildings you see you’ll find
yourself at the foot of a lake. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYqR0XfkLAL2KqP4YEPcuqQ_tVG30iKLs7S9UXz3pIUskclmY_vJmIOpQX5xrkbuTi7z6N7I-WgQ5amf3z0xgDHcyYIN0lib_1-TR6mylCxVUtwhHhukHtmj160s2ohdoKvPTCmd5yLo/s1600/P1020108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYqR0XfkLAL2KqP4YEPcuqQ_tVG30iKLs7S9UXz3pIUskclmY_vJmIOpQX5xrkbuTi7z6N7I-WgQ5amf3z0xgDHcyYIN0lib_1-TR6mylCxVUtwhHhukHtmj160s2ohdoKvPTCmd5yLo/s1600/P1020108.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The lake is called Kunming Lake and is a man made lake. <br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The palace itself, like many other places
in Beijing, was burnt down and rebuilt at least once in it’s history.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The lake is quite large, and it all of a
sudden felt like I wasn’t trapped in one of the country’s largest cities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was a beautiful day, with a very clear
sky. It wasn’t terribly cold, but the lake still had chunks of ice in it. There
were signs everywhere warning people not to walk on the ice. The spot I first
went to only had chunks of ice in it, but further back the ice was solid.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAdnDUfUvwN8Eq-TnaOT_H3cYDlopQCW8JcsW9sTkK6BqZRvSpQvSt_zsUE042w2P-M_f6kr_hlzBbaeFlNk7QBych-4HgJiW9Z2iD3nTiZoHSWDbEKAQja3gFzQnNuiuVAXmGsv3PJQ/s1600/P1020111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinAdnDUfUvwN8Eq-TnaOT_H3cYDlopQCW8JcsW9sTkK6BqZRvSpQvSt_zsUE042w2P-M_f6kr_hlzBbaeFlNk7QBych-4HgJiW9Z2iD3nTiZoHSWDbEKAQja3gFzQnNuiuVAXmGsv3PJQ/s1600/P1020111.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Of course people were still walking on the
ice. At first I could see people in the distance and I wasn’t sure how it was
possible given the lack of ice near where I was.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I started to walk around the lake. My goal
was to walk around the whole lake, but as I started going I could see there
were several parts of the lake that I never saw from where I started. I walked
for about 2 hours and wasn’t close to half way around.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_dTJ8obmhtI-CmKGU3KrMAN4VlmdF06ekFnAGLmhQOv9C3f-KLDapeypGdoHlQLxjDWWAaitqVK0FKRxucgY0XScRPxNzzKWPUS3L7Hjn6mLCC3nxWwshbpBmjXVkRTivea83iX21-s/s1600/P1020123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_dTJ8obmhtI-CmKGU3KrMAN4VlmdF06ekFnAGLmhQOv9C3f-KLDapeypGdoHlQLxjDWWAaitqVK0FKRxucgY0XScRPxNzzKWPUS3L7Hjn6mLCC3nxWwshbpBmjXVkRTivea83iX21-s/s1600/P1020123.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">That’s when I turned around and walked back
to where I started. As I walked back to the lake the sun began to go down and
there was a sunset over the lake. At this time several people were standing on
the lake, a lot right in the middle. A lot were taking pictures of the sun set.
</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-16325654597771288602015-01-25T07:32:00.000-08:002015-01-25T07:38:37.086-08:00Forbidden City<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Dln4-cTTYW9dol0EV-fOtYp5AKd2Rd5gutF_fqbuBFVU7K8jar93W38WWQ3FOXSEqpxHazsk6YNO0wQzMPE1jjZRsEiGqDwesKlkK5Hx10dhUk0Aqsrl5rSR5K4hlWRlOMcoUEDVITM/s1600/P1010010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Dln4-cTTYW9dol0EV-fOtYp5AKd2Rd5gutF_fqbuBFVU7K8jar93W38WWQ3FOXSEqpxHazsk6YNO0wQzMPE1jjZRsEiGqDwesKlkK5Hx10dhUk0Aqsrl5rSR5K4hlWRlOMcoUEDVITM/s1600/P1010010.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
In my last post, I went into way more detail than I expected about the history of <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2015/01/tiananmen-square.html">Tian'anmen Square</a>. It was on the list of top things to do while in Beijing.<br />
<br />
The rest of the list included the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and hutongs. I didn't pay for any tours, just rode the metro to them, paid the entrance fee (at the places that had them) and wandered around aimlessly. If I was really interested in the tours it was quite easy to eavesdrop on the tour guides and follow them around. This was especially true for the larger tour groups.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEZRLSQ5acEgDYcVqxOLzI0pob2swzUB9H-vK5dIRHvKbodBac5fIxID-PG9B5ce1jAey2bkVuLhti_ZqRfoVV1luUeFM-OTO9W1ilXfcXia8n3Ld2-0W2YDkwSKjc6hfy2wVv_r7lUA/s1600/P1010037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEZRLSQ5acEgDYcVqxOLzI0pob2swzUB9H-vK5dIRHvKbodBac5fIxID-PG9B5ce1jAey2bkVuLhti_ZqRfoVV1luUeFM-OTO9W1ilXfcXia8n3Ld2-0W2YDkwSKjc6hfy2wVv_r7lUA/s1600/P1010037.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<u><b> Forbidden City</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
Right after my visit to Tian'anmen square I went to the Forbidden City. I walked through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, or Tiananmen and into the Imperial City. I walked through the city where there were several tourists--with their tour guides--and tour guides soliciting people to tour through this famous palace.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94jIevI1DEq5YjoTzf2V7Ky45er1qSPL02CMCagRGV-BkDmSiyu4YIMrt-RZj1-uMl9VRq07OesdgfZWOV3ordzkNLAzAtOzLc2tq69MR7YExDm6q2F4pDqdBO3tcPUxqSnImVcamjAc/s1600/P1010048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi94jIevI1DEq5YjoTzf2V7Ky45er1qSPL02CMCagRGV-BkDmSiyu4YIMrt-RZj1-uMl9VRq07OesdgfZWOV3ordzkNLAzAtOzLc2tq69MR7YExDm6q2F4pDqdBO3tcPUxqSnImVcamjAc/s1600/P1010048.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
I purchased entrance into the city and entered through a gate and started walking around. It was like many temples and palaces I had seen before. Pagoda architecture, lots of intricate designs and colours. The main difference was it was bigger than the others I have seen. All of the palaces were named exotically, using words that translate to peace, harmony, tranquil, heavenly and purity to name a few.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRb4MAzLDmOFMr3Tci6omdkFAYItx9qm1-geNX4-bO6YNCk3pay787792nxbkcYLX1z8ONnKZbU1zRhDXftata1ujSayNpB6NzhSHSFF-5DCaJcrEyvtLlOTZALCXOQH9WwtKAHXHUizo/s1600/P1010054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRb4MAzLDmOFMr3Tci6omdkFAYItx9qm1-geNX4-bO6YNCk3pay787792nxbkcYLX1z8ONnKZbU1zRhDXftata1ujSayNpB6NzhSHSFF-5DCaJcrEyvtLlOTZALCXOQH9WwtKAHXHUizo/s1600/P1010054.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The palaces were built with wood and large blocks of marble. I overheard a tour guide telling some people that the marble was transported to the city by pouring a path of water through the streets and letting the water freeze so it could be pushed across the ice. Much easier than trying to haul big marble blocks before modern machinery.<br />
<br />
The Forbidden City sits on the central axis of the city that runs north south. This has historical significance as it seems to be aligned with other important landmarks like the flagpole in Tian'anmen Square, Mao's mausoleum and the Bell and Drum Towers. It also may be aligned with the other Chinese capital during the Yuan dynasty, Xanadu.<br />
<br />
As you can see from my pictures above, the day I visited the Forbidden City (and later the Summer Palace) were really clear days. I was lucky. You can tell by the blue skies in the pictures. The top picture is just a picture of the city streets the day before. You can see the contrast from that and the pictures below.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-7605286985591039942015-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:002015-01-25T07:35:51.756-08:00Tian'anmen Square<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ObhSFV-COBocjk6xvOWsiiHyT7vpm7IRDPzA_7ukOzcgRKhyphenhyphenhJA4ogE2EbfHwN5TongIzkyOwGy9Cfp-aWlaLZRTy2IsrU2nhc65GVUyFV-0UcSaNIA1dOVc5pJr1LGlIiZ5Ut1_hyphenhyphenU/s1600/P1010014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ObhSFV-COBocjk6xvOWsiiHyT7vpm7IRDPzA_7ukOzcgRKhyphenhyphenhJA4ogE2EbfHwN5TongIzkyOwGy9Cfp-aWlaLZRTy2IsrU2nhc65GVUyFV-0UcSaNIA1dOVc5pJr1LGlIiZ5Ut1_hyphenhyphenU/s1600/P1010014.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Beijing is the capital city of China and thus makes it one of the most important. It also has a long deep history dating back thousands of years. This history encompasses 7 World Heritage sites, including the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-great-wall-of-china.html">Great Wall</a>. Further, it is the birthplace of The People's Republic of China.<br />
<br />
I went to several of the top sites in Beijing. I opted not to get the tour guide for these sites. I figured that I could use the internet to learn what I wanted to learn and these were places I wanted to just explore on my own. It was also an adventure navigating the metro and arriving on my own.<br />
<br />
I googled what to do and see in Beijing and I found a list that listed different things to see during a short trip. I used those to decide what I should do. This post initially was going to be about all the places I saw in Beijing, but the first part I wrote ended up taking me a long time and can stand on it's own as a post.<br />
<br />
<b>Tian'anmen Square</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8c82G5ly-R9ZOKt3MpnxwiTBa0B7hY0Hhpe4ZKTEUmpcLPEwzP3BoClZPdvz-QCBUmaT-zLZQ0lz50uELD0kigftdxY2jbWdro2paJOZ1Du4izvFhySQEKk4CkDBrRRjBi2ITwJU1UU/s1600/P1010029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8c82G5ly-R9ZOKt3MpnxwiTBa0B7hY0Hhpe4ZKTEUmpcLPEwzP3BoClZPdvz-QCBUmaT-zLZQ0lz50uELD0kigftdxY2jbWdro2paJOZ1Du4izvFhySQEKk4CkDBrRRjBi2ITwJU1UU/s1600/P1010029.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a>This was probably the thing I wanted to see the most other than the Great Wall on my trip to Beijing. It's the biggest square in the world and is one of the most infamous. It is so big that there was more than one subway stop for the square itself. The square is surrounded by rather large buildings that each have their own significance. It's a big empty cement slab littered with hundreds of tourists, most of which were Chinese.<br />
<br />
The square has no benches or trees. It does have lamp posts with video cameras, statues and plain clothes police officers. At the head of it is a flag pole. One of the things to do is watch them raise and lower the flag at dawn and dusk. This is something I did not do. In order to do it I would have to arrive in the square before 5am. I don't really understand the the point of the ceremony.<br />
<br />
Across the street is Tian'anmen, or the Gate of Heavenly Peace. This is the entrance to the Imperial City which contains the Forbidden City, also on the list of things to do. It is from this gate that Mao Zedong announced that Beijing was to be the capital of the new People's Republic of China.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyyBiE7J3arSyaBXha2D7Fu13oe-1iZOUe9RQ9EcfWgBgZpwmqXY1tSjpFsZTBLWIzmbSE0NO2RKVxNvHs8mRPUlwldB6fj0wr18RVik3joUjka1ktpY8zdmZH655iZPrZYtwSoTw5_8/s1600/P1010018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKyyBiE7J3arSyaBXha2D7Fu13oe-1iZOUe9RQ9EcfWgBgZpwmqXY1tSjpFsZTBLWIzmbSE0NO2RKVxNvHs8mRPUlwldB6fj0wr18RVik3joUjka1ktpY8zdmZH655iZPrZYtwSoTw5_8/s1600/P1010018.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>While in China I started to read <i>Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China </i>by <a href="http://www.jungchang.net/">Jung Chang</a>. This was the third time I have read this book, and it was probably the most meaningful seeing as I was in China. Jung Chang also wrote a book with her husband about Mao that I intend to
read. Both of her books are banned in China, although that pertains
more to the Chinese versions of the books.<br />
<br />
It is hard to imagine that some of the older people I rode the subway with in both Beijing and Shanghai could have been Red Guards, a role for school-aged children during the Cultural Revolution. This means they would have traveled to Tian'anmen square to partake in a rally with Chairman Mao himself! In fact, if you did not join the Red Guards you and your family would probably become under suspicion. This is how Mao controlled a population of over half a billion people, with fear. During the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution he got rid of schools for children and used the children as his own personal spies.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJudhGuayukicFXfnLuNA9Z7BF1EvCxlecY49XtgK8cobcfXzKrehrsBxAUgrYsTd19qtVAFN0eVd9ce_MJVf04ZKGaRRqgDOTlWxGZOJmsd33PVOJFVODBncu9s5GJsOeN_oOY06Uxi8/s1600/P1010016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJudhGuayukicFXfnLuNA9Z7BF1EvCxlecY49XtgK8cobcfXzKrehrsBxAUgrYsTd19qtVAFN0eVd9ce_MJVf04ZKGaRRqgDOTlWxGZOJmsd33PVOJFVODBncu9s5GJsOeN_oOY06Uxi8/s1600/P1010016.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>These children were used by Mao as peons to instill fear in a whole nation of people simply due to their devotion to him. What is the most shocking is that he is still revered as divine like! Right on the Gate of Heavenly Peace is his portrait. This portrait is replaced every year on the anniversary of the forming of the People's Republic of China (October 1st). The portrait weighs 1 and a half tons. Mao died in 1976--almost 40 years ago--but still his legacy lives on despite all the horrible things he did. Further, right in the middle of Tian'anmen square is a mausoleum embalming his body.<br />
<br />
I am perplexed why this man--this tyrant--has become so enshrined. It isn't a topic I am eager to broach given all the secrecy and censorship there is within the country.<br />
<br />
Another taboo topic is about something that happened in the square on May 35th, 1989. I am of course using a code name for the day as if you search for June 4th 1989 in China your access will be blocked as the material is "too sensitive". At least from what I have read (I use a VPN). Other clever nicknames include 8 squared (8x8=64, 6/4 is June 4th) and the roman numerals for 6 and 4 (VIIV).<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphfhYMht2RwFIYFblyDHrDk_qNAGQcG6FvcJQhQ28nKBv8FYWl_zdnrU68-eM4sh2yuQFdOr2paEH3sVrjMAPRegH50Je0jBuOGi9JMKO0L7sjRq_irZCBhkOCYV9URJC1F5fCHI4XuE/s1600/P1010025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphfhYMht2RwFIYFblyDHrDk_qNAGQcG6FvcJQhQ28nKBv8FYWl_zdnrU68-eM4sh2yuQFdOr2paEH3sVrjMAPRegH50Je0jBuOGi9JMKO0L7sjRq_irZCBhkOCYV9URJC1F5fCHI4XuE/s1600/P1010025.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>This event had weeks of political protests eventually squashed by the communist party sending in tanks and soldiers to clear the square by force. Because of the secrecy involved in keeping information about this away from the general public, the death toll is unknown. The Chinese government released numbers between 200-300 people while estimates outside the country are in the thousands.<br />
<br />
Under Chairman Mao this would never have happened. Not because he wouldn't have let hundreds or thousands of innocent people die but because people were so afraid to criticize him, the government or the communist party to themselves, let alone out in public. The Tian'anmen Square massacre was the People's Republic of China reminding its people and the world that they were still boss even though the country had come a long way politically, economically and globally in the 13 years since the Cultural Revolution ended.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-36783119466080350182015-01-10T22:08:00.000-08:002015-01-11T03:02:14.256-08:00AQI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xvFlKIZr_tcfWGDXVdbHUxYcan-THpk1XJ3kmtD_QhSqyGCHMK66EndV-rCN_Xgri8K0Q4u6SX8D_eiC_VD2wYzFszmwsgRoMW8K4aF8hs57nU3aCuIZbmP0luIpQqEgDaaWV-lKENU/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xvFlKIZr_tcfWGDXVdbHUxYcan-THpk1XJ3kmtD_QhSqyGCHMK66EndV-rCN_Xgri8K0Q4u6SX8D_eiC_VD2wYzFszmwsgRoMW8K4aF8hs57nU3aCuIZbmP0luIpQqEgDaaWV-lKENU/s1600/IMG_1199.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I was really lucky that it was so clear when I climbed the Great Wall. I left Beijing on the 27th of December on the train and I could not see a lot when I looked out the windows. This was because the air quality index (AQI) was high. In other words, there was a lot of pollution in the air.<br />
<br />
This is an ongoing problem throughout all of China, not just Beijing. The problem also includes Shanghai.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<i>(The picture to the left is from a tall hotel in the financial district in Pudong. I was unaware it was even a bad AQ day until I saw out the window of the 84th floor). </i><br />
<br />
While in my hostel in Beijing I had the news channel on. It was the only channel that was in English. I heard a lot of the same news over and over again. One piece of news was about a meeting that took place that had China identifying that the AQI was a problem and that they had plans to reduce the pollution in the air. They did not reveal exactly what the plans were, just that they were planning on enforcing them from now on.<br />
<br />
The Air Quality Index is a useful tool to show how bad the pollution is. I don't understand all the jargon about PM2.5, but what I do understand is the higher the index number, the worse the pollution is.<br />
<br />
The scale goes like this:<br />
<br />
0-50 is good<br />
51-100 is moderate<br />
101-150 is unhealthy for sensitive groups<br />
151-200 is unhealthy<br />
201-300 is very unhealthy<br />
301 + is hazardous<br />
<br />
The last few days have had particularly poor air quality in Shanghai and throughout different cities. Right now (Sunday morning) it sits at a 267, well into the very unhealthy range. Yesterday it was pretty much the same. I went to the grocery store and had a slight headache. I can't be sure that had anything to do with the air quality or not but I'll be trying to stay indoors when the AQI is so high just to be sure.<br />
<br />
That is what happens if it is too high at school, the students must play inside. I think anything in the unhealthy range and the students must stay inside. We stayed inside on Friday because of the AQI. Throughout the school year so far, there have been somewhere between 5 and 10 indoor play days due to smog.<br />
<br />
From reports I have been reading, it is getting better, although only slightly. It will be interesting to see what can be done to reduce the pollution in such large cities. I know Metro lines are continually expanding. Ideally that will reduce smog levels because less people will drive, but I am not sure if that is true, or if it is big enough to make a real impact.<br />
<br />
Some of this information is not available to the general public. Sometimes the readings the US embassy has on the AQI is much higher than what China releases. The US reports are often censored as well. On some really bad days last February, employees were banned from talking about the pollution on social media.<br />
<br />
In class this week we were having a discussion and stars were mentioned. One of my students said there are no stars in Shanghai. I found this interesting, I never noticed before that I haven't seen any stars. I don't even remember seeing the moon. On Friday the sun looked like the moon because of the haze.<br />
<br />
There are lots of different euphemisms for the pollution. Often it is inaccurately referred to as fog. It can also be called smog. I think most commonly it is referred to as haze. Even in the weather forecast a bad pollution day is considered hazy. Calling it high AQ also seems less harsh.<br />
<br />
Last year February was the worst month. I'm curious to see if that trend continues, and what China will be doing to reduce these readings.<br />
<br />
Hopefully on May 16th the air quality in Beijing is low. I have started training to run my first marathon in the area. I'm not a runner, but I do want to be a little more active. I get bored of using treadmills at the gym, so I am using the marathon and the accomplishment of running one as extra motivation. Plus the run is along the Great Wall, which will be a great experience and is the main reason I want to complete the marathon.<br />
<br />
For more information on the run you can check out <a href="http://great-wall-marathon.com/">the website.</a> If you are interested yourself, you could even join me!<br />
<br />
<span id="goog_914347057"></span><span id="goog_914347058"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-82945776932227432032015-01-03T14:26:00.000-08:002015-01-11T02:59:59.283-08:00The Great Wall of China<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhl33D7mqzcsdVwYPVqlSgOp1Gz7k_H00RRCf6-wAEEj9ibicF8JLxztjcv8yf_OpMEBGFCZSzFbsQ2SCEN3k8CfV-p96GdrZ72rXa5z_rG08v1jzheU1Q4tglxdSLhcEGdKj8LYD7oA/s1600/IMG_1622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlhl33D7mqzcsdVwYPVqlSgOp1Gz7k_H00RRCf6-wAEEj9ibicF8JLxztjcv8yf_OpMEBGFCZSzFbsQ2SCEN3k8CfV-p96GdrZ72rXa5z_rG08v1jzheU1Q4tglxdSLhcEGdKj8LYD7oA/s1600/IMG_1622.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>A trip to The Great Wall was a certainty at some point during my stay in China. I couldn't imagine staying here for 2 years and not making a visit to it. As it was, I felt like my 5 month stay was far too long without venturing to this historic icon.<br />
<br />
I was prepared to go during Christmas break since the start of the school year really. When I divulged these plans to people they advised me to dress warm because at that time of year Beijing is so cold. The winds out in the open would make it that much worse. I didn't want weather to deter me, so I purchased a large thermal jacket from the pearl market in Shanghai. I spent just over $100 on the coat and was hoping I didn't get ripped off by too much as I was not sure what I should be paying and I had to barter to get the price that I did get (a future post will go into detail about this). I looked at the same jacket online and it cost over $800 so regardless of if I could have acquired it cheaper here, I did save plenty of money.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYYlHh_E9ufLbGd_ffKeiti1nnY7x0-UxZuPbk9UwckXpfFTcprKNeuornj7HsmgFUnNrMWSDy_5wnFr3NzLfGpKCMTjkLXa4MKSteB4S4ABvK_lu2Q0UGm810V54XKqvX4RAQpRQn50/s1600/P1020124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYYlHh_E9ufLbGd_ffKeiti1nnY7x0-UxZuPbk9UwckXpfFTcprKNeuornj7HsmgFUnNrMWSDy_5wnFr3NzLfGpKCMTjkLXa4MKSteB4S4ABvK_lu2Q0UGm810V54XKqvX4RAQpRQn50/s1600/P1020124.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>Another constant warning was about the pollution and air quality in Beijing. Not surprising as this is an ongoing issue in most major cities in China, Shanghai included! Beijing is the capital of the country and of the air pollution problem. I would not let this deter me either, although I was really hoping I would be able to see clearly while on the wall.<br />
<br />
There are many parts to the Great Wall. It stretches for close to 9000 km, with over 6000 km of actual wall. Some of the wall has been restored while other parts are rubble reminiscent of a structure built over a thousand years ago. The restored area is the area most tourists trek to.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcm1rvZr8A0WRhBI8G623njpZV3QViTGdrnygdKK3zQhyphenhyphenjYMt6XbAGMuwMYOTeMvHYVy3g5zns7yV5EV4e__Jtvqf60tc9Vme8OeIgLmVhyhL9mhBRiybi6j_BiIOKMk9sWOU572Bdh8/s1600/P1020142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcm1rvZr8A0WRhBI8G623njpZV3QViTGdrnygdKK3zQhyphenhyphenjYMt6XbAGMuwMYOTeMvHYVy3g5zns7yV5EV4e__Jtvqf60tc9Vme8OeIgLmVhyhL9mhBRiybi6j_BiIOKMk9sWOU572Bdh8/s1600/P1020142.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>I went with the tour group Beijing Hikers. The tour took us from Jiankou, an unrestored section of the wall, to the restored section of the wall in Mutianyu.<br />
<br />
To start, we took a bus from Beijing to a small village. We hiked from there up to a tower close to 1000 meters above sea level.<br />
<br />
The weather wasn't frigid. The wind wasn't noticeable. In addition, I was climbing up a mountain and physically exerting myself. The conditions made the need for a jacket non existent, let alone the thermal jacket that I was wearing.<br />
<br />
When we got close to the first tower on the wall, we took a small break to remove excess, unneeded clothing. I took off the sweater I had on underneath my coat. The arms were damp due to sweat. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtP5B5TsHuMtT26fxKxTz1ODvCoVisbyfPnz5LJc3sPIMJlCLBBn0GJoY88eIfVb27EQr83mwnhjuM0ggIgIT1nZoJmi58-pmNVfoL543q0xNur-9Ie857gBSBQAgMS4BI7_7D10itSS4/s1600/P1020155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtP5B5TsHuMtT26fxKxTz1ODvCoVisbyfPnz5LJc3sPIMJlCLBBn0GJoY88eIfVb27EQr83mwnhjuM0ggIgIT1nZoJmi58-pmNVfoL543q0xNur-9Ie857gBSBQAgMS4BI7_7D10itSS4/s1600/P1020155.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>We finally arrived at the top where we found a crumbling tower of the Great Wall of China. It was so exciting to be standing on it. I thought to myself, I am finally here. I wondered if the 8 year old me from 1993 would have been pleased. There were some wooden ladders set against some ledges so we could climb into the tower and onto the wall.<br />
<br />
Inside the tower there were layers of stone that we could climb up in order to get to the top of the watch tower. I could really tell how effective the wall could be in terms of defense. You would be able to see a group of people well before they ever arrived to the wall, especially considering the lack of transportation available thousands of years ago.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_xblxiKLK9qfjw8ObOVdwwicgqdX-kUsFljCbHhY9ZP2tpupxwCWBlUf1JhY5JtrQy3UZ5dsIqMoMt7-bJ9qKNYhYoyd9W6V-JeYoelIKt7FuyaJWdCATpIpTgB5Da3YKQnXXSuvKMA/s1600/P1020181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_xblxiKLK9qfjw8ObOVdwwicgqdX-kUsFljCbHhY9ZP2tpupxwCWBlUf1JhY5JtrQy3UZ5dsIqMoMt7-bJ9qKNYhYoyd9W6V-JeYoelIKt7FuyaJWdCATpIpTgB5Da3YKQnXXSuvKMA/s1600/P1020181.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>I was hot so I removed my coat once again. When I placed it nicely on the ground I noticed that I had steam pouring off my body. It reminded me of a cartoon who is so dirty he is drawn with dirt surrounding him (like Pigpen from Charlie Brown). I eventually decided I needed to get my sweater out again and retire the Canadian Goose furnace I was carrying around. It was good to know it worked though. It was so bulky that I needed help closing my back pack when I folded it up and crammed it in.<br />
<br />
I was really enjoying being on the wall. The weather was warm for the time of year and the visibility was super clear that day. A lady from New Zealand who had hiked the wall twice before this said it was as clear that day as in New Zealand. Looks like I ended up being extremely lucky compared to my pre-warnings. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0_uJnT8WwAQgSH9LymxjSVaoeBTmJ3vmHAKa5wFomkt9m5KxHqiA67rEB1y9qq_6_KgCahanK4xVv_AKSHjP4hzKGcxLNueIW16G9W1yj9iWTtpZna5E6UdCQTXfCjUQ21TnMk1NUE8/s1600/P1020150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0_uJnT8WwAQgSH9LymxjSVaoeBTmJ3vmHAKa5wFomkt9m5KxHqiA67rEB1y9qq_6_KgCahanK4xVv_AKSHjP4hzKGcxLNueIW16G9W1yj9iWTtpZna5E6UdCQTXfCjUQ21TnMk1NUE8/s1600/P1020150.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The hike continued along the top of the wall. At parts it was just a bunch of rubble that was being taken over by tress, shrubs and weeds. Some parts were extremely steep and I was glad for the small trees to grab a hold of and keep from tumbling down the wall and taking out everyone else who was struggling to stay sure footed. The sides of the wall were also helpful for this leverage.<br />
<br />
We hiked along the wall as a group without meeting other tourists while on the unrestored part. We had a local tour guide from the small village we started in. Along the way one of the guides asked him to take her picture and then explained to those around that he won the 2013 contest for best Great Wall picture. I took several pictures myself, but I am sure I won't be up for any award.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KKPoO3QrId5Xrd5N8WABnWwedNfZluwHHavs-bp2BqgbxEqJp4Efa6d9ZdnVIKpb1IhAjlEw6iWNQxWzDLey8IdxWXS-v-2VWHaHPhqRhdD_gKNlCCrRD4J9pQRDgKWpc-NJJ7T7SJc/s1600/P1020167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0KKPoO3QrId5Xrd5N8WABnWwedNfZluwHHavs-bp2BqgbxEqJp4Efa6d9ZdnVIKpb1IhAjlEw6iWNQxWzDLey8IdxWXS-v-2VWHaHPhqRhdD_gKNlCCrRD4J9pQRDgKWpc-NJJ7T7SJc/s1600/P1020167.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
One thing I enjoy about these types of tours is meeting other people who are traveling. A lot of people seemed to be traveling in threesomes on the wall. The ones I talked to the most were from New Zealand and Sweden. There were also a couple of lone climbers--like myself--one from England, and the other was a guy from Slovenia but had lived in Toronto since he was 10.<br />
<br />
Once we arrived at the restored part of the wall we started to see other hikers. I was wearing a Detroit Tigers sweater and someone commented on it and asked if I was from Michigan. While explaining I was from Ontario, someone else walked by and announced they were from Michigan.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmMVPUlkCzNb9ZT1SYtFvxeVQgt6edxXwo1Q3iqt8gU4V5kFVWtpVpQpEbXk0j7u60GtPBNm9JtnDTf5_dkN7jPkneJxPi5o5PRDtt84g9aHc_yFiYzAkEclh9II1sLJo_RqJLfcMvWU/s1600/P1020192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmMVPUlkCzNb9ZT1SYtFvxeVQgt6edxXwo1Q3iqt8gU4V5kFVWtpVpQpEbXk0j7u60GtPBNm9JtnDTf5_dkN7jPkneJxPi5o5PRDtt84g9aHc_yFiYzAkEclh9II1sLJo_RqJLfcMvWU/s1600/P1020192.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Just because the wall was restored, it didn't make the climb down the wall any easier. The stairs were extremely steep and my legs were sore for a few days after the hike. It did however make for nicer pictures and was more of what I had envisioned when I thought of the wall.<br />
<br />
We arrived at the part of the wall where our trek was completing. We had the option of taking a <br />
toboggan slide that we were told Beyonce had also taken, but I didn't have any interest. After the day the tour took us to a local restaurant where we socialized some more before we rode the bus 2 hours back into Beijing.<br />
<br />
It's funny how you can have high expectations for things and they fail to live up to the expectations. Some of these things may have been pretty cool had they not been hyped up. I find this especially true for movies. It is unfortunate, really, that expectations can ruin otherwise good movies or outings. <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2012/01/pyramids.html">The pyramids</a> kind of did this to me, although I am still glad I saw them. The Great Wall of China also had these expectations from me. Unlike the pyramids however, they did not disappoint. At the moment, I can't imagine leaving China without visiting the wall once more. The weather and the visibility luck probably had a lot to do with my positive experience on the wall. I wonder if I would be singing the same tune had I not been able to see the wall for miles in the distance.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-41583845928617438222014-12-28T03:25:00.000-08:002015-01-11T03:05:09.984-08:00Revisiting My Top 8 Travel List<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxTqDPWkFnqbowQSc20lmkw9zBiM3uH1LvdCSJYmDRWJ5viUcrrMJmSQ4fOBfOuZpcaSXt8xuX6wtxMUKJAjiV195uc1LNBh-GG2_9sI7v2jHr4yOg_004pGT0tZ8N_TxCbyQZMoa-LY/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxTqDPWkFnqbowQSc20lmkw9zBiM3uH1LvdCSJYmDRWJ5viUcrrMJmSQ4fOBfOuZpcaSXt8xuX6wtxMUKJAjiV195uc1LNBh-GG2_9sI7v2jHr4yOg_004pGT0tZ8N_TxCbyQZMoa-LY/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
A few years ago I was in a rut, being under employed and sitting at my parents house a lot, trying to write a travel blog while not traveling. Not an easy task. While at home, I created a list of 8 things I wanted to do while traveling.<br />
<br />
I mentioned that at the time, friends from home felt like I had traveled everywhere to which I disagreed. I still disagree, but I do acknowledge that I have done a lot. I have even tackled some of the things on my top 8 list, with plans to bring down a couple more. I still maintain that the more I travel the more I
realize I have been no where.<br />
<br />
Below is the list, updated with my current idea on when it will be completed, or comments on if it has been completed. The link to blog posts relating to my experience has also been provided in case you missed them, or would like to relive them.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
1. <b>A professional hockey game in</b> one (or more) of the four major leagues outside of North America. This includes<b> the</b> <b>KHL</b> in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Latvia, <b>the</b> <b>Swedish Elite League</b> in Sweden, the <b>SM-liiga</b> in Finland or <b>the</b> <b>Czech Extraliga</b> in the Czech Repulic. Realistically, the or should be an and. I would
love to see what hockey is like overseas and what it is like to be a fan
as well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56SmR0LELo2zVZBWS1wwyTA1_TmD-7MxsSDn5ro7Ez102v6tnjUGutWLFOkXVuNKNgWTk2glzK5JdlfePz_wXrM3yoqqBMsiE6kdRSSv2ULI9M9sJPikCg9r27IoeY4aDhvB3sx00IvU/s1600/Europe+Winter+2012+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56SmR0LELo2zVZBWS1wwyTA1_TmD-7MxsSDn5ro7Ez102v6tnjUGutWLFOkXVuNKNgWTk2glzK5JdlfePz_wXrM3yoqqBMsiE6kdRSSv2ULI9M9sJPikCg9r27IoeY4aDhvB3sx00IvU/s1600/Europe+Winter+2012+012.JPG" /></a></div>
<i>I took a trip in the winter of 2012 to Europe with the specific goal to see hockey games. The trip brought me to the Czech Republic, Finland and Sweden. My timing was off for Sweden as the league was on a break when I arrived, but I did see a game in the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html">Czech Republic</a></i><a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html"> </a><i>as well as a game in a <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2012/03/hockey-in-finland.html">small town in Finland.</a> I was also very fortunate to see an <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2012/03/outdoor-game-in-helsinki.html">outdoor game in Helsinki</a> where future NHL players were playing.</i><br />
<br />
2. <b>The Great Wall of China:</b>
I did a group project on China when I was in the third grade and have
wanted to see this very large wall ever since. I'd also love to see
parts of the rest of China. I read a great book in a first year history class about 3 generations of women growing up in China. I enjoyed it so
much I actually reread it. As a result I would be interested in seeing
the country in person.<br />
<br />
<i>Now that I am in China, the Great Wall is an obvious one to knock off the list. As of the writing of this I have not seen the Great Wall. But I am headed there and will be doing it in a few short days. Because I pre-wrote this blog post, I will have explored the Great Wall when this is published.</i> <i>The story of Beijing and the Great Wall will be something you can look forward to in the near future. In fact, next week I will post about my trip to The Great Wall.</i><br />
<br />
3. <b>A World Junior Hockey Tournament in Europe</b>.
Perfect to go with number one on the list. My favourite thing about
Christmas time is this tournament being played. I was fortunate to see
one game in Ottawa, on New Years eve. It was an amazing game with a great
atmosphere. The United States was up on Canada 3-0, but John Taveres
scored a hat trick to lead Canada to a 5-4 victory. The tournament has
been in North America several years in a row now. It will finally return
to Russia in 2 years and then will be in Sweden the year after. I could
knock quite a few goals off this list with a trip to either place
during those holidays.<br />
<br />
<i>Perfect to go with number 1, but just didn't. I have wondered since writing this why it's important to see this tournament in Europe. Was this just for the chance to see Europe and hockey in Europe? I'm not sure. I could still make a big trip of it. Christmas time of 2015 the tournament is in Helsinki, maybe I can do that?</i><br />
<br />
<i>The tournament is going on right now. It's a joint tournament shared between Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Sweden and Russia have already hosted the 2 years prior to this one. </i> <br />
<br />
4. <b>Russia</b>. The history
geek in me also fell in love with Soviet history and would be thrilled to see Moscow. Russia works
with a couple of my other top 10s as well, like number 1 and number 3. I
just thought it deserved its own mention.<br />
<br />
<i>No immediate plans for this, but I could go and see Russia on my way to Helsinki next Christmas time, if that is something I indeed do.</i> <br />
<br />
5. <b>A baseball game in Japan</b>:
I also really want to go to Japan, but why let it take up two spots on
the list. For a country like Russia I would be happy to go in the summer
but see no point in going to Japan during the winter. I have an
admiration for Ichiro Suzuki, always have. I'd love to see where his
career started. Other favourite players careers have taken off in Japan
as well. I used to have a poster in my room that was bigger than me of
Cecil Fielder. He found his game in Japan. I also love Korea and want to
see how much better Korea is than Japan.<br />
<br />
<i>I am really hoping to get the chance to see a game this summer. Japan isn't that far from me, so going to Japan isn't an unreasonable idea. I was thinking after the school year finishes in June, or just before it starts back up again next August. There are a lot of other cool things I could see and do in Japan as well.</i> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioaiw03Jl4aj2ddthqo8ydjG4XG9Z3Etfv3qNLeiu-kJsvJwy-K_nKhHmpoo7h60iF_5Z8-p2VHqybZJ2nDMBMTaFhy2wJ-X_AjZzh9Fkw9Dl76ska1eKcPh37bnianwcB34mvKTwwS60/s1600/Egypt+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioaiw03Jl4aj2ddthqo8ydjG4XG9Z3Etfv3qNLeiu-kJsvJwy-K_nKhHmpoo7h60iF_5Z8-p2VHqybZJ2nDMBMTaFhy2wJ-X_AjZzh9Fkw9Dl76ska1eKcPh37bnianwcB34mvKTwwS60/s1600/Egypt+017.JPG" /></a>6. <b>The Pyramids</b>. Just
a fascinating connection to the old world. Being in Egypt, seeing the
land where Moses supposedly set his people free. Every connection to the
biblical world. I guess additionally it would be cool to see the Holy
Land in Isreal, but I think I find the Pyramids and the history behind
them every bit as exciting.<br />
<br />
<i>This was the first thing I knocked off the list during the Christmas 2011. It was also the first of many trips I took with my girlfriend Michelle.</i> <i>I'm glad I saw the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2012/01/pyramids.html">pyramids</a>, but I have no desire to return to Egypt.</i><br />
<br />
7. <b>Canada</b>. This one
may seem kind of comical. After all, I am in Canada and have been here
for about 23 years of my life, or 92% of my life. But all of that 92%
has been spent in Ontario. I spent a couple hours in Vancouver airport
on my way to and from Australia, but I do not count that and nor should
I. Canada is a huge country and it is kind of shameful I have not seen
much of it at all. I'd love to hang out in the Rockies and see the
beauty of the East Coast and everything in between.<br />
<br />
<i>I have still not made it out of Ontario. This seems to be an adventure that will happen when I am back living in Canada for good.</i><br />
<br />
8. <b>Every Major league baseball stadium, in one</b> long, fantastic, perfect <b>trip</b>.
I am a huge fan of baseball, and I cannot think of a greater trip than
traveling the United States and visiting every ball park. An expensive
trip I know, but one I would never forget. I've been to The Rogers
Centre in Toronto and Comerica Park in Detroit. I go to both these
stadiums every year and usually make a trip several times a year to
Comerica to see my favourite team. When possible on this dream trip, the
Tigers will be the visiting team. In addition, a visit to the baseball
hall of fame in Cooperstown will be included in the trip as well as
seeing some of the worthwhile sites America has along the way.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jeu7sqY-RkdeGR_u77o24nLt5kvMGRK2fekIrNXI_UNONwvYNw8jeoVG5_ka5mA9Dox6vldUj8g626t_TdP9QfZrwNte2Isp8Y-CE4v-2V_EA6YKv7dpWcbUjQHuyW5PdjRkncytHhs/s1600/nyc+074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jeu7sqY-RkdeGR_u77o24nLt5kvMGRK2fekIrNXI_UNONwvYNw8jeoVG5_ka5mA9Dox6vldUj8g626t_TdP9QfZrwNte2Isp8Y-CE4v-2V_EA6YKv7dpWcbUjQHuyW5PdjRkncytHhs/s1600/nyc+074.JPG" /></a><i>Since writing this I have seen <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2011/06/baseball-nyc-style.html">Yankee stadium</a></i> <i>during a trip I made to New York City. That's it though, and certainly not in one long fantastic trip. I did read a book written by a couple fans who embarked on the same type of trip I long to do. Their trip had time restrictions on it however as they attempted to see 30 games in just 30 days, which is crazy! Especially because they were driving. They ended up going to the games, just to go. I want to enjoy the games.</i><br />
<br />
<i>I have come to realize that I may not be able to see these all in one trip and I don't know when the next time I will see a game at all is. But it is still my hope to one day see every stadium. </i><br />
<br />
*************************************************************<br />
That is my updated top 8. While some won't be achieved anytime soon, by next summer I should be able to knock at least half off the list. Of course, many other things have been added since writing this post. I want to go on a safari, climb part of Everest or visit Mongolia to name a few.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-26051014623334250832014-12-21T06:06:00.000-08:002015-02-03T03:52:17.075-08:00Shanghai Roads<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcSOSWZjbfzDzW0IRb-xkCqSx84irnhaQr7E-mDNn_uz6eJDX7Nhuvv8G1Ff8RAETjxgMzFBi8mhS7xEFQCul8AIJAgeU6qJ3h736dPHXzb2ewObKnu_zYq2NoEuTq9hBSLJhefHqZ7U/s1600/FullSizeRender-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcSOSWZjbfzDzW0IRb-xkCqSx84irnhaQr7E-mDNn_uz6eJDX7Nhuvv8G1Ff8RAETjxgMzFBi8mhS7xEFQCul8AIJAgeU6qJ3h736dPHXzb2ewObKnu_zYq2NoEuTq9hBSLJhefHqZ7U/s1600/FullSizeRender-3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>In my area of the city, Qibao, I live on Zhongchun road. This road is set up like many other busy roads throughout the city. It runs pretty much North/South and in the middle of the road there is a median that seperates the traffic going in different directions. This prevents cars from making a left hand turn into driveways and some side streets. Instead, they need to make a U turn at the next traffic light, and then the turn they wish to make will be a right hand one. </div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
You can only turn left on a left hand signal light on the roads as well as make a U turn. On some roads the left turning and U turn lanes are on the far right instead of on the far left. This may have something to do with the bike traffic.<br />
<br />
Many roads have additional medians that separate the bike lanes from the car lanes. The bike lanes are narrow, just big enough for one car to fit. The majority of the bikes and motor bikes that use these roads head in the same direction as the traffic beside them, but the odd bike will drive the opposite way. If you are lucky they will stay on the right side of the bike lane. Generally if you are going the opposite way you should use the lane on the other side of the street.<br />
<br />
The roads are set up very conveniently for navigating yourself through the city, even for a foreigner. At each intersection, or cross street as they are often referred to as, there is a sign that labels each road in both English and Chinese characters as well as which direction is north/south, or east/west. There are also numbers on the signs indicating which addresses are which way. I have not found the numbers on the signs very helpful however because sometimes the roads are split into a direction and the numbers can repeat themselves.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgQEC58j-lgm29byw0KCmcsLm3gb_L0NL70pd8W29z5ClOoaSaxYHcJnqtZTqHn2-b33b163f86bco-4uI9aNwTsHntfMZT9ReU6iL93uqzN4ZdNhEEDxaAcbVFKh6vUTKotffrm-lCs/s1600/FullSizeRender-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgQEC58j-lgm29byw0KCmcsLm3gb_L0NL70pd8W29z5ClOoaSaxYHcJnqtZTqHn2-b33b163f86bco-4uI9aNwTsHntfMZT9ReU6iL93uqzN4ZdNhEEDxaAcbVFKh6vUTKotffrm-lCs/s1600/FullSizeRender-1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>To get to the different parts of the city and to help ease the traffic they have built elevated highways. These highways are just as they sound, elevated. They are roads above roads. They add to the notion that Shanghai is a tall city, even if that is more due to all the sky scrapers in Pudong. This is especially true when an elevated road intersects an elevated road.<br />
<br />
While driving on the roads you are at times as high as the buildings you are driving past. It's interesting being on the bus and looking over and seeing a building below you that is actually several stories high. It isn't really easy to illustrate the elevated highways via pictures from on the ground, at least not in my area. You should be able to see however that the elevated road in the distance is much higher than the ground I am standing on to take the picture. <br />
<br />
<br />
******************************************************<br />
<br />
Thank you for reading and Merry Christmas. I will be spending my Christmas in Beijing on the Great Wall of China. It will be my first experience of China outside of the very westernized Shanghai. I'll be traveling by high speed train too which will allow me to see a little of the Chinese country side.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-10346495407517153652014-12-14T07:05:00.004-08:002014-12-14T07:05:52.032-08:00Crowds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2YzuwHZWYJjEUdhtYciJKY6Ky7NivMXQgti_KRkZltOeMiClJuwtUelocySF6lqu33NisNtfVTlsZ7vsedr5NhMNg_mkrTIHm55rstg0zL9Waq_X3lqNFzngaEosDWecJY7S7_fiYLo/s1600/IMG_1544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2YzuwHZWYJjEUdhtYciJKY6Ky7NivMXQgti_KRkZltOeMiClJuwtUelocySF6lqu33NisNtfVTlsZ7vsedr5NhMNg_mkrTIHm55rstg0zL9Waq_X3lqNFzngaEosDWecJY7S7_fiYLo/s1600/IMG_1544.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
One thing of note about Shanghai are the crowds. This isn't a surprise when you consider there are over 24 million people living in Shanghai. That makes it the largest city in the world population wise, although there is more room for the crowds of people compared to some of the other more populated cities.<br />
<br />
That doesn't change the fact that it is crowded. Especially when all these millions of people are doing something popular, like traveling on the metro, going grocery shopping or site seeing at <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2014/11/peoples-square-and-bund.html">the Bund</a>.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWIqvLV5c-WfMXD0KfeKiC42RyZoN8oCSoYo_9B-x9t5GxZP7OiXcy5glduKxpBctVmt-VqOuYGIzya38BMCfZH12m-maAL79-uP3EYpmUu6ihsTpTiAEnh92M6HVlwSLNYV99hRQcgo/s1600/IMG_1545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWIqvLV5c-WfMXD0KfeKiC42RyZoN8oCSoYo_9B-x9t5GxZP7OiXcy5glduKxpBctVmt-VqOuYGIzya38BMCfZH12m-maAL79-uP3EYpmUu6ihsTpTiAEnh92M6HVlwSLNYV99hRQcgo/s1600/IMG_1545.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>The day after I wrote my post about the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2014/11/shanghai-metro.html">metro system</a>, I used it and encountered a huge line trying to squeeze onto an already crowded train. This was at Zhaojiabang stop on line 7 where I was transferring from line 9. This is typical of most trains during rush hour.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Carre Four & Tesco</b></u><br />
<br />
When we first moved into our apartment we had to make trips to crowded places in order to live. The first night was quite hectic because on top of the full day of work, the moving out of the hotel and into our new apartment and the paper signing, we had to go shopping to purchase items to make living possible. A lot of these items were put of until the weekend, but there were some necessities, like bed sheets. Our first stop was Carre Four, the international shopping market that originates from France.<br />
<br />
As advertised, it was crowded in there. We had a list of things we wanted to get to go with our bed sheets as well such as eating utensils, plates or bowls and cookware. We were tired of eating out so much, especially because we had been ordering pizza on a regular basis because of a lack of other delivery options. We were too busy to go out at first.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iGZ3kO3R7Au3B3WGh3aq52_1jQorwct3k5xxuKb4CTil8BCOmJzSlGsh1j-1fP2QOUmAVT9TsAp5MzYNshqVKd1fApP76kmJE8NQBCLo6UJB16ICvFGjw69PP_xig703EO4YOIUZEQI/s1600/IMG_0650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6iGZ3kO3R7Au3B3WGh3aq52_1jQorwct3k5xxuKb4CTil8BCOmJzSlGsh1j-1fP2QOUmAVT9TsAp5MzYNshqVKd1fApP76kmJE8NQBCLo6UJB16ICvFGjw69PP_xig703EO4YOIUZEQI/s1600/IMG_0650.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>When we exited Carre Four with our bags of goodies stored in the shopping cart we had difficulty finding a taxi. We asked some people who either didn't understand us, or know where we needed to go to catch a cab. We pushed the cart out towards the front of the mall where the main street was and we were greeted by an angry Chinese man who was yelling at us about something. He did not want us near the street for some reason. We then headed away from him along the curb closer to the store and to our surprise he followed us. Some people asked us what was going on and we told them that we didn't know. They talked to the guy but then never told us what his problem was.<br />
<br />
We thought it was done but moved on down the curb in search for a cab and the little, old and angry Chinese man continued to follow us. A guy in a black car asked us if we wanted a taxi. We had been told the black taxis are rip offs because they don't have meters, but at that point we just wanted to get away from our new angry Chinese friend. Plus, we didn't have far to go so the meter wouldn't have even moved if there was one so I knew how much the fare should be. Once we loaded the cab with our stuff the Chinese man came and took our cart away. Turns out he worked for Carre Four and just wanted to make sure our cart didn't leave the store property. We never got our 15 cent deposit back.<br />
<br />
If we thought Carre Four was busy then there isn't a good adjective to describe Tesco. Tesco is very similar to Carre Four, except more people seem to use it. There were people everywhere. We avoid Tesco because it's just too busy.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Ikea</b></u><br />
<br />
What good is moving into a new apartment without a trip to Ikea? All of Shanghai has only 2 of these Swedish furniture retailers which means the Ikea we visited was for 12 million people to shop in.<br />
<br />
It too, surprise surprise, was quite crowded. The layout of Ikea also does not lend itself to housing several people all at once. It has narrows paths with aisles of goods on display. You could only move so fast as people were always stopping to browse some furniture sets. We had a list of things to get, but not a lot of furniture. We were interested in a desk lamp as well as some cooking and baking items.<br />
<br />
We found the lamp we wanted and brought it home with our other Ikea purchases. That is when we discovered that the light bulbs were sold separately and the bulbs for the specific lamp were only found at Ikea. That meant another trip through the maze of Ikea.<br />
<br />
This actually turned out to be kind of fun. Michelle and I started to race through the Ikea store, knowing we were only there for the light bulbs. We would weave in and out of people, up and down aisles that were less occupied in order to beat the other to a certain location. Instead of allowing the crowds of people be our frustration, we turned them into our challenges. I'd like to think I was the better Ikea weaver, having made it through the crowds of people the most efficiently.<br />
<br />
We found the light bulb and were set to bring it home. Once we set the new light up we discovered that there is a second light switch in the room, within reach of the bed. As a result, we have never used the Ikea lamp.<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-35269734253453115292014-12-07T05:12:00.001-08:002014-12-07T05:12:16.537-08:00Xiao Long BaoIt's not like me to write about food. I am certainly not very adventurous when it comes to food.<br />
<br />
Case in point, I spent 365 days living in Korea and I estimate that I went to McDonald's around 250 times. Perhaps slightly less because sometimes I went to Burger King or had pizza. The main thing is I ate at North American fast food joints a lot. I'm a little ashamed to admit that, but if you know me it probably isn't hard to believe that was the case.<br />
<br />
I didn't even try the famous bibimbop. I also barely tried kimbap because I didn't really like it. These were both very common meals or snacks that people ate there. I just stuck to french fries and chicken nuggets.<br />
<br />
Starting out in Shanghai with my girlfriend Michelle however made food and trying new foods a little more of a priority. The most famous food in Shanghai is xiao long bao (show long bow is how I pronounce it, but they don't always understand me. When that happens I have to show them a picture from my phone of the chinese words <span style="font-size: 130%; width: 50%;"><span lang="zh-Hant"><a class="extiw" href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E7%B1%A0" title="wikt:小籠">小籠</a><a class="extiw" href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%A5%85%E9%A0%AD" title="wikt:饅頭">饅頭</a></span></span>). It is sometimes known as the Shanghai soup dumpling.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaI8kZrBThxoPuUf5oZlsM0kRoODVFLkceA4x2os0e8daSOM_jSzzUArm4HTLXmcUtEbG1oEwAdvM1J_xKU6vnPYrOmSz6slngm0iOWETBHXgMYOXYSPabTmi1vKOqSkSXoaRf3F_SiNc/s1600/IMG_0685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaI8kZrBThxoPuUf5oZlsM0kRoODVFLkceA4x2os0e8daSOM_jSzzUArm4HTLXmcUtEbG1oEwAdvM1J_xKU6vnPYrOmSz6slngm0iOWETBHXgMYOXYSPabTmi1vKOqSkSXoaRf3F_SiNc/s1600/IMG_0685.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Lots of places sell these dumplings, but we wanted to have our first taste of them to be the very best. Researching online we found that the best could be found in the Yu Yuan garden area. Apparently that is where all the tourists go to get the dumplings, including Chinese tourists. It is also the first, or a branch of the first xiao long bao restaurant.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
We took the metro there, as per usual. It took us a while, but we finally found the area we knew these tasty buns to be in. There were pagoda buildings and we saw a lot of gimmicky tourist stuff on sale. After walking around and asking some people we finally found an English sign that pointed us in the right direction. The arrow said Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant.<br />
<br />
When we arrived, there was a large line. I stood in it while Michelle took a rest on a bench. This would also serve as our dining place as the line was only for take out. I only had to stand in line for just over an hour, hungry and salivating with anticipation.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ058EKztbJ2dbEKBMpW2jmfhF9vaP6cMUHCaDMwx8Ewyq74-W-CcXJABvekRxvfCf9dCO-FOwdppOh_X6i19NySXuY_sersPP1KrdA3_v3w5QQhvEXmXyVG8AbjKkq6oRcM9raMvtlP4/s1600/IMG_0691.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ058EKztbJ2dbEKBMpW2jmfhF9vaP6cMUHCaDMwx8Ewyq74-W-CcXJABvekRxvfCf9dCO-FOwdppOh_X6i19NySXuY_sersPP1KrdA3_v3w5QQhvEXmXyVG8AbjKkq6oRcM9raMvtlP4/s1600/IMG_0691.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>They didn't disappoint. We ordered a large dumpling and a basket of small soup dumplings to share. The large one was not very special, but the small ones were quite good. We had read about the best way to eat them. First you need to puncture the top of the dumpling ever so slightly to allow some steam to escape. Next you pick it up with the chopstick and you slurp some of the soup out before you place the rest of the dumpling in your mouth and chew.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0MfrNC9cxLUq-px3rpftahNxWd63bqONfhYEpcVpj8EHduvbzLJHspgX6DZRVPmcTKV74rJlMxtRPsTbqB1I48bnD5UAeyE1Dv2LEXBdTWbHGqcrNUIYBffwqGXPdw62feORtJkwtWA/s1600/IMG_0692.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0MfrNC9cxLUq-px3rpftahNxWd63bqONfhYEpcVpj8EHduvbzLJHspgX6DZRVPmcTKV74rJlMxtRPsTbqB1I48bnD5UAeyE1Dv2LEXBdTWbHGqcrNUIYBffwqGXPdw62feORtJkwtWA/s1600/IMG_0692.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>The dumplings are usually made with pork inside, but also commonly have crab as well. If you don't puncture the dumpling to let the steam out you will likely burn your tongue. <br />
<br />
Upon reading and researching for this post, I did not find the old website that I used to find the dumpling place or that lay claim to it being the best one. I have found a reference to a few different places having the best ones as well as one that bad mouths the place I am writing about. I may just have to try the new places out sometime.<br />
<br />
One of the best ones that was mentioned was another place that we have tried before. It was good, but there was a long wait in between trying both of them. The second trial occurred in the French Concession area and it was a nice sit down chain restaurant. It was also a little on the pricey side and it also had a bit of a wait time, although we received a number instead of having to stand in line for an hour.<br />
<br />
I do want to find that website again as I have done a few other things from that site. I'll have to consult Michelle to see if she remembers it or has it written down.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-75849785789233716882014-11-30T05:05:00.000-08:002014-11-30T05:05:06.716-08:00People's Square and The Bund<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo7GRbIMkHFmNeNKWkv5fEMo67lcVJn-eTPo-pQeITXXbS_hKRp5NBqyyfh-fNKfzZCLg5xsoR_V4iqo6faQFkkj7ZpHErvGPi-A2oobTB9T3b5dImq9PZtKYF-_15CByh6kbVtBZh_-A/s1600/IMG_0466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo7GRbIMkHFmNeNKWkv5fEMo67lcVJn-eTPo-pQeITXXbS_hKRp5NBqyyfh-fNKfzZCLg5xsoR_V4iqo6faQFkkj7ZpHErvGPi-A2oobTB9T3b5dImq9PZtKYF-_15CByh6kbVtBZh_-A/s1600/IMG_0466.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
People's square is located at the center of Shanghai. It is on the Puxi side of the Huangpu river and is on top of one of, if not the, busiest metro stops in China. 400,000 people use this metro stop every day. Using the metro in general, but especially this station, gives you an idea of how populous this city is.<br />
<br />
The square itself was converted into a square from a horse racing track. When China became a communist country, gambling became illegal and the need for a horse racing track no longer existed. It too is often quite busy. It is a popular tourist spot, and from what I have read it is a common place to get picked up for a tea scam.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Beside People's Square is People's Park. It too is a large and busy area. Michelle and I made our way through the park one Sunday afternoon. We found an area full of umbrellas just sitting open and on their sides. They work as notice boards informing potential buyers about what was for "sale." This was the marriage market. All of these flyers were advertisements for what an unmarried man or woman's qualities were. They were of course all in Chinese but they mostly stated the person's name, age, occupation, salary as well as other details like height, weight and family health history.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9fuAAzgP4B76jNQFl8finb9jPC2ZsJxrwxlPftXgItdMmOUO4QiBB1zJf7x8zwri82zmOMfsWIuO0c5hiPmxoMDiZZ1dzE1b0qFibokTSaQRqITHnQbNj0shyRCWSwRqHX86qfwlgi8/s1600/IMG_0644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9fuAAzgP4B76jNQFl8finb9jPC2ZsJxrwxlPftXgItdMmOUO4QiBB1zJf7x8zwri82zmOMfsWIuO0c5hiPmxoMDiZZ1dzE1b0qFibokTSaQRqITHnQbNj0shyRCWSwRqHX86qfwlgi8/s1600/IMG_0644.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><br />
Really, several months of dating information was summed up and pasted onto an umbrella. The people behind the umbrella's were typically parents or grandparents of those who were looking for a match, and often the future bride or groom had no knowledge and had given no permission to their elders. This is a way for parents to uphold traditional marriage in a modern China.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3D-r-ibLziO6x0LaCcroMemEyjyVAqLAPIQuYSEFSyNj40EHrfun39KtIkdb0I8CxoL5ZDuIFlnI95Y5fgT-LejDQKlftB_r2a47jM9TQbOESejrB59Q1Cgos5LHRhmYmkfhPgQ8gq4/s1600/IMG_0649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD3D-r-ibLziO6x0LaCcroMemEyjyVAqLAPIQuYSEFSyNj40EHrfun39KtIkdb0I8CxoL5ZDuIFlnI95Y5fgT-LejDQKlftB_r2a47jM9TQbOESejrB59Q1Cgos5LHRhmYmkfhPgQ8gq4/s1600/IMG_0649.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Not too far East of the park and square is the area known as The Bund. It is another very busy area for Chinese and tourists. It is a slightly elevated pathway that runs along the Huangpu river. It gives a view of the Pudong side of the river, which is where the financial district is and where all the fancy skyscrapers are.<br />
<br />
We have frequented both of these areas more than once. They are very busy so they are great for people watching. The people watching in Shanghai isn't quite as interesting as it is in other places. But it is still something to do. They are located at the center of the city, so there are a lot of things to do in the surrounding area.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD6jw0SXQ3dVYlNs511I383sd678phGsiFeKtifhVL47t8wCrt1kF9DLml_4WCWR2tXY0jEn44BDV6QFG_sqwuVRBs9-d_UH1a0hAQYWZdAxaE8xte_iKbnhpA7C5WhHquwleiepFty4/s1600/IMG_0693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZD6jw0SXQ3dVYlNs511I383sd678phGsiFeKtifhVL47t8wCrt1kF9DLml_4WCWR2tXY0jEn44BDV6QFG_sqwuVRBs9-d_UH1a0hAQYWZdAxaE8xte_iKbnhpA7C5WhHquwleiepFty4/s1600/IMG_0693.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><br />
The Bund was also used as an incentive or an accomplishment of where we should bike do. It is around 20 kilometers away, so biking there and back is a good 40 kilometers. You get exercise, you save money and you avoid all the crowds of people on the metro all in one go.<br />
<br />
***********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading the blog. I have managed to stay committed to keeping it updated for 4 weeks in a row now. In order to continue I need your help. Please comment on the posts with any further questions you may have...or any general inquiries you may have as well. These comments should help me make future posts. You can also email me at andrewrweiler@gmail.com. <br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-3873894977806115852014-11-23T06:23:00.000-08:002014-11-23T06:46:54.081-08:00Shanghai Metro<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKVGlxS6V5pR-ffo5TAlbX4GYp6vUD1dQHgEO9mTn9jibcYYookrRKKO1FXg_BjZZBygtTP-h1uLoq6CCyM0A3k-HHYYiKAdXEK8ce0gH-WN_ZaJplrThF_ZOzGERAFCkN9fa7M0YGDU/s1600/shanghai_metro_map_hires.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKVGlxS6V5pR-ffo5TAlbX4GYp6vUD1dQHgEO9mTn9jibcYYookrRKKO1FXg_BjZZBygtTP-h1uLoq6CCyM0A3k-HHYYiKAdXEK8ce0gH-WN_ZaJplrThF_ZOzGERAFCkN9fa7M0YGDU/s1600/shanghai_metro_map_hires.jpeg" height="225" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
My new apartment isn't very close to the city centre. In fact, it is 17 KMs away from People's Square.<br />
<br />
<br />
This isn't a huge deal because Shanghai's transit system is awesome. I am thinking specifically of the metro system as I have never used a public bus.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xrL3ywgxC4QpXnCckMz5wA9yX7CB5-AGpzKG_QrGoCj6EOot5oKsPHEgz_vmGhoLyGGer-HIjfRDt_rWw_b2uaqTseyUybv0gGX55TdIeCHB7-0hGH07XtjboNXtrAizdK160we-BtQ/s1600/line-5.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-xrL3ywgxC4QpXnCckMz5wA9yX7CB5-AGpzKG_QrGoCj6EOot5oKsPHEgz_vmGhoLyGGer-HIjfRDt_rWw_b2uaqTseyUybv0gGX55TdIeCHB7-0hGH07XtjboNXtrAizdK160we-BtQ/s1600/line-5.gif" height="200" width="144" /></a></div>
<br />
There are a large number of subway lines, and from what I have read these seem to be continually expanding. The lines on the outer edge are a little confusing to me, but I have never had to use them. I'm thinking specifically of line 5, which has it's first (or last) stop as a transfer to line 1's last (or first) stop. So what I don't understand is why this line isn't just line 1. From what I have read, it sounds like the line will eventually be expanding at which point the first station will just be a transfer station, which would make more sense.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7Th0h89JjWU4qGtYpglcpjoLJdHu9sk4WHd_JzOVJwiGiheh046SSFvrgx5-cgH60ebH-pIYiHnw0FHpyb8tU8FotdBaWx7VaSDQSbdNajmhzcYTYUFU8nf9DSK2yXlhRjpBE1PNA1I/s1600/Zhongchun+Road+to+Peoples+square.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7Th0h89JjWU4qGtYpglcpjoLJdHu9sk4WHd_JzOVJwiGiheh046SSFvrgx5-cgH60ebH-pIYiHnw0FHpyb8tU8FotdBaWx7VaSDQSbdNajmhzcYTYUFU8nf9DSK2yXlhRjpBE1PNA1I/s1600/Zhongchun+Road+to+Peoples+square.png" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
That isn't the point of this post. In fact, I want to talk about the opposite. The metro system is very easy to use, convenient and affordable. <br />
<br />
To get that 17 KMs to People Square, I just walk to my nearest subway stop (Zhongchun Road), and take it towards Middle Yanggao road until Xujiahui (7 stops) and then from Xujiahui, I transfer to line 1 towards Fujin road until I get to People's Square (5 stops). It may sound complicated, but it is really quite easy. All you need to know is which station is the last stop on the line in order to know which way to go. That route will take about 37 minutes, depending how long you need to wait for the transfer. The process is also made much easier if you have a smart phone with the Shanghai Metro App. It will tell you the route to take as well as estimate the amount of time it will take you. The picture on the left is from that app on my Iphone.<br />
<br />
The traffic in Shanghai can be pretty bad at times. This is due to the sheer number of people on the roads as well as to people just driving foolishly. We saw a huge bus try to turn around in a very tight area once. He held up traffic on both sides of the road as he moved forward a little bit and then back. It reminded me of the scene in Austin Powers where Powers is trying to turn the golf cart around in a narrow hallway. To make things worse, the other cars were getting impatient and started to crowd into the bus's space. This gave him even less room to turn around. I'm not sure how long that held people up. It is things like that however that make the subway more reliable and convenient than driving. On the subway, you will take pretty much the same amount of time going from point A to point B every time you go. While driving, you can never be sure. During heavy traffic times, the metro is for sure faster.<br />
<br />
Some people argue that they'd rather take a taxi. While cabs are cheaper in Shanghai than what you would pay for a cab somewhere in Canada, they are quite a bit more expensive than the metro. For example, my trip to hockey is around $1 via the train, but taking a taxi would cost me more than $20. It makes a difference. I'm too cheap to do that, especially consistently.<br />
<br />
Plus, I genuinely enjoy the subway for the sense of adventure it gives me. Although, I can understand why you may not like the metro. It is almost always crowded. There are plenty of times I am unable to get a seat because there are so many people. There at times is a lot of pushing, and people tend to crowd the exits and try to enter the train before the people who are getting off exit. It's just something you learn to deal with. Also, you have to be prepared to be starred at, which is another common thing you need to learn to deal with.<br />
<br />
If you have a keen eye, you can notice when someone who is seated is getting ready to get off at the next stop. Then it is just a matter of placing yourself near them and scooping the seat up before anybody else.<br />
<br />
People will give up their seat to the elderly as well as small children. They will also give up their seat to someone who has fainted, which was a lesson learned the hard way.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-53603792196507900452014-11-16T06:11:00.001-08:002014-11-23T06:49:22.630-08:00Finding an Apartment<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt;
mso-header-margin:36.0pt;
mso-footer-margin:36.0pt;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US">When someone new moves to Shanghai, so the
debate begins on where to live. Should they live in the Pudong area of the city
or should they live in the Puxi area?</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Puxi is the more happening area, where the downtown
is, and where a lot of the restaurants and night clubs are. Pudong is known
more for having actual houses, with plenty of parks and more of a family
friendly area.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This was also my first lesson in Chinese.
Dong means east and xi (she) means west. Pu is the name of the big river that
dissects the city. So Puxi is west of the river while Pudong is east of it.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZr8hQW0hriVBmYR8cpcrNfN_JSGDhODlZH5WHTPyNryBPCtSDuH2pHn_n0mNbIPCKXDoqO4lfQ-mrQu6aeqn0_iBm4khOAj7LzhY9pIb13Y9bq9ahDg4bvHHRSUQDAiFoxcemxq9UUo/s1600/IMG_0500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZr8hQW0hriVBmYR8cpcrNfN_JSGDhODlZH5WHTPyNryBPCtSDuH2pHn_n0mNbIPCKXDoqO4lfQ-mrQu6aeqn0_iBm4khOAj7LzhY9pIb13Y9bq9ahDg4bvHHRSUQDAiFoxcemxq9UUo/s1600/IMG_0500.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I had no such debate, as the school I teach
at is so far away from Pudong that Puxi was really my only option. I’m sure it
would be possible to do the commute. I have heard that some of the students do,
but I really have no interest in spending a large amount of time on the bus.
Plus, I am not sure that staff busses go to Pudong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I arrived in Shanghai with my girlfriend, Michelle,
ready to find a place. I have searched for a place to live just twice before
this: once with my Mother at the start of University as a 17 year old and once
abroad in Brisbane, Australia. Both occurrences I just wanted to find a place
to live as soon as possible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This time was different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time I was looking with a partner, and I
had a reasonable budget. I could afford to be picky. Although, as soon as
possible was still the preference. Who wants to be working full time and house
hunting at the same time?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We were looking for preferably a 2 bedrooms
and 2-bathrooms apartment. Ideally, it would be as close to the school as
possible. It would have been nice to get to work via walking or a short bike
ride so the reliance on school busses wasn’t as big.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Upon arrival, the school set us up with 2
free nights in a hotel and used our housing allowance to pay the remainder of
the hotel bill. The school also set us up with a real estate agent whom we felt
obligated to work with, as they were familiar with the school bus route.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqK4x-08f6qPTYdo_MQELEvdvObzDVvFcHnEeWaw7tg6NuSlOfz7iy5Gq6vIy_6YHCnzTFpIOu9Owlc4BLGIQQIBCo9e028FBQto6u0BC3hvgXJRMDuWCjrwPOzQRDdiO1rQgBEijIF4g/s1600/IMG_0501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqK4x-08f6qPTYdo_MQELEvdvObzDVvFcHnEeWaw7tg6NuSlOfz7iy5Gq6vIy_6YHCnzTFpIOu9Owlc4BLGIQQIBCo9e028FBQto6u0BC3hvgXJRMDuWCjrwPOzQRDdiO1rQgBEijIF4g/s1600/IMG_0501.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We were also ‘competing’ with a few other
people to find a place. These people were shown around with us, wanted
different things than us and had a different budget from us. Not really the
ideal people to search with. This was frustration number 1.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The real estate company didn’t listen to
our wants at first and frankly, barely heard the wants of the others looking as
well. When they finally realized we felt we weren’t close to finding a place,
they took my partner and I out individually.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We finally found a place we really liked
and it was close to the school. It was pretty much exactly what we wanted. Then
at the last minute the owner decided he changed his mind and wanted to sell the
place. Unless of course we were willing to pay more per month. We were not.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOFUxenncdYtFwoHs-G5o3YCwR31htiIlsqNA_uK95vZhSc1qgzh1U1I8vWsSr0qcx8C18dGudxI9iS1J3pJOCGeevv0LQo-ZK8F6NaTT5ya7YQlOWww8qqJ5Ttp9iJU_z0FtVPVO2wc/s1600/IMG_0504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOFUxenncdYtFwoHs-G5o3YCwR31htiIlsqNA_uK95vZhSc1qgzh1U1I8vWsSr0qcx8C18dGudxI9iS1J3pJOCGeevv0LQo-ZK8F6NaTT5ya7YQlOWww8qqJ5Ttp9iJU_z0FtVPVO2wc/s1600/IMG_0504.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Back to square one. At this point, we were
already starting to get overwhelmed with school and visa issues that we decided
to settle. We wanted out of the hotel so we went back to the area we were shown
prior to our individual tours. We took a two-bedroom apartment in the area of
Qibao. A lot of the families who are employed by the school live in this area.
Our apartment is nice, but it isn’t as nice as the place we didn’t end up in.
It also isn’t as close.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m generally happy with it. It is close to
metro line 9, which is a subway line that can take us into the city. The subway
system here is very convenient. It is very large and goes virtually everywhere
with plenty of stations that you can transfer to different subway lines. More
on that at a later date!</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-36994107055582997442014-11-09T05:37:00.003-08:002014-11-23T06:47:47.625-08:00Hello From China!I have been absolutely awful at keeping this blog up to date.<br />
<br />
I
have done a lot of traveling since I last updated this blog on my
adventures...and I am not planning on slowing down the travel anytime
soon. Since my last travel post, I have been to Dubai, Vietnam, Bali,
Shanghai and Hong Kong. I even spent a year dormant in Canada.<br />
<br />
That means I have a lot of work to do in order to update this blog.<br />
<br />
As
a second grade teacher I am constantly encouraging my students to keep
practicing in order to achieve better results and improve. As an
aspiring writer, it is time to take my own advice.<br />
<br />
I'm
trying to decide what exactly this means. I think I should be writing
daily in order to keep my writing skills sharp. I can keep myself
accountable for that by promising and following through with a weekly
article for this blog. <br />
<a name='more'></a>The only problem with that is if I decide to
write about something sports related. It doesn't fit into the theme of
my travel blog (not usually anyways, there are the examples of when I
traveled in order to watch sports).<br />
<br />
So, I will update the
blog from now on every Sunday. If I decide to use my daily writing to
create a sports writing piece, then this blog write up may be short or
only consist of pictures. I feel like the deadline of every week will
ensure I actually do it and make me find time within all the other work I
need to do. It also gives me an avenue of procrastination from lesson
planning that seems a little more productive than watching middle aged
women dance outside the convenience store. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXHRp206m2sk9DGKvuM6fBCMofFZ07UAikXukFjCIQQaIOSck-ZuyM2V2qwdW7V5Xym9GDfZv-ScMJf4aSTocWaujlVOONzoIqfNT4o4MFgdEdQ-2RHT_Zctyo_RcjAOz9EPm853wWrQ/s1600/IMG_0613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmXHRp206m2sk9DGKvuM6fBCMofFZ07UAikXukFjCIQQaIOSck-ZuyM2V2qwdW7V5Xym9GDfZv-ScMJf4aSTocWaujlVOONzoIqfNT4o4MFgdEdQ-2RHT_Zctyo_RcjAOz9EPm853wWrQ/s1600/IMG_0613.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
Anyways,
as the blog title mentions, I am sending out greetings from China. Or I
am just saying (Shang)hai. Yep, had to work that pun in there somehow.<br />
<br />
Shanghai isn't new to me. I've been here a little over 3 months now. I've settled into a 2 bedroom
apartment in an area called Qibao (Chee-bow). The apartment is quite
nice. I'm teaching grade 2 to a variety of kids from all over Asia. It
is certainly more of an international school than the school I taught at
in Kuwait.<br />
<br />
I'll go into more detail about everything
in future posts. I have promised a weekly update after all! If you are
interested in hearing more details about something, or have a specific
post you would like me to write about just let me know. You can either
comment on a blog post itself or shoot me an email. It would actually
help me a lot to have something specific to write about.<br />
<br />
That
is it for this week. You can expect another post next Sunday, November
16th. You can also expect that post to be more about some specific
aspect of life in Shanghai. Thanks for reading, and I hope the reading
continues!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-9802874549527896782014-06-29T19:25:00.002-07:002014-06-29T19:25:46.198-07:00Next Adventure!I have been terrible at keeping up with this blog, and I intend to change that!<br />
<br />
The last post I made was about my time in Oman. That was back in October of 2012! A year and a half ago. Since then I have travelled to Dubai, Vietnam and Bali.<br />
<br />
While I have not done anything worth writing about in the last year of my life (at least that fits the theme of this blog) I still have not caught up on everything I have done. Vietnam in particular was a long 2 week trip that was packed full of adventure, including a food tasting tour that would shock those of you who know me and are familiar with my food tastes (or lack there of).<br />
<br />
Will I ever catch up on these travels? If there was ever a time to catch up on them it would have been in the 8 months while I was being a couch potato and becoming addicted to netflix.<br />
<br />
Now, I am presented with a new adventure. One that takes me to one of the most populated cities in the world; Shanghai.<br />
<br />
Here I will teach a grade 2 class while exploring what China has to offer. The adventure starts on August 5th and I can't wait! I'll be pretty busy between now and then with friend's weddings, bachelor parties and birthdays. Once I arrive in Shanghai, there may be too many new and exciting things to write about to ever catch up on what I could have been writing the last 8 months.<br />
<br />
I'll try my best. Back to East Asia I shall go!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-2028123448737943762013-06-18T21:16:00.004-07:002013-06-18T21:16:57.516-07:00Nizwa<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uk2M2Pyw-4vR5qN_mHyyqWB3p2NxpL1WJXfYUjd-LwYwWNvR1u2yAmJqlKjD4w3Myg_uxHeu-fJaJKQFnfVelRnz2QTFwwTXsEUY76HUv1nprkSyHHJKdpzRHCG55gDUG0RcCfs4pwE/s1600/109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2uk2M2Pyw-4vR5qN_mHyyqWB3p2NxpL1WJXfYUjd-LwYwWNvR1u2yAmJqlKjD4w3Myg_uxHeu-fJaJKQFnfVelRnz2QTFwwTXsEUY76HUv1nprkSyHHJKdpzRHCG55gDUG0RcCfs4pwE/s200/109.JPG" width="200" /></a>The man who took us to and from the snorkeling was very nice. His name was Mohammad and he was Omani. He asked what else we were planning to do, and if we had paid for any of it yet. We had not. We wanted to see the mountains, visit Nizwa and visit a Wadi. We had arranged day trips for some of it through the hotel, but had not yet paid for it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqJE5BzR6qJcUeQyDvmxgcv6Q0MhB_L1QVbZ919ozhqkqjz5vdGVAa6JKLGquJw5OfqcNCM68Wx-tR6m5RkTu0rPlM3SqNFwLxmtnAHS38FrD1gkaRoJbG053pl_SXsLwuqdbwKwoISM/s1600/112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEqJE5BzR6qJcUeQyDvmxgcv6Q0MhB_L1QVbZ919ozhqkqjz5vdGVAa6JKLGquJw5OfqcNCM68Wx-tR6m5RkTu0rPlM3SqNFwLxmtnAHS38FrD1gkaRoJbG053pl_SXsLwuqdbwKwoISM/s320/112.JPG" width="320" /></a>Mohammad offered to do all of the things we wanted to do for quite a bit cheaper. He also acted as our cab driver, driving us from the hotel to the beach and suggesting restaurants along the way and he did not charge us anything for this service.<br />
<br />
The first trip we did was to a fort at the base of the Hajar Mountains. The Nizwa fort used to be an important link between Muscat and the rest of the country.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXNXXpVakEoTJsp-sMpm4YHWOEGMoPRW8GIfoCbHaCtud6hx9M4N9Z3cS4dpX7EJG_VyYLeKl2Ual9WsnUJH9i4Ra8SYxnGJFJRVW8ShK2qkBss5d1aQhEd7FUUrS9oqwmzLW1lpkdv4/s1600/114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXNXXpVakEoTJsp-sMpm4YHWOEGMoPRW8GIfoCbHaCtud6hx9M4N9Z3cS4dpX7EJG_VyYLeKl2Ual9WsnUJH9i4Ra8SYxnGJFJRVW8ShK2qkBss5d1aQhEd7FUUrS9oqwmzLW1lpkdv4/s320/114.JPG" width="320" /></a>The fort itself looks like what people who have never been to the Middle East would expect it to look like, myself included.<br />
<br />
<br />
Mohammad took us up through the mountains along the way. Quite nice for those in the Middle East and those stuck in the boring desert that is Kuwait. But nothing you can't see in the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF86iIasg7PdREIjwPf7Pnnlwv7hOopcfJwu71ZuC8s0kE1-DG6FcqKcrLQeZfk5nwYAnp8xHjPt1lmfGibdwMueCdYXHM49J5-Y1AzB2rjXmOpmt6R6M9hTWzKNP3NR9uQf9zxL8cUo/s1600/115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiF86iIasg7PdREIjwPf7Pnnlwv7hOopcfJwu71ZuC8s0kE1-DG6FcqKcrLQeZfk5nwYAnp8xHjPt1lmfGibdwMueCdYXHM49J5-Y1AzB2rjXmOpmt6R6M9hTWzKNP3NR9uQf9zxL8cUo/s320/115.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
This is the top of the fort.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnF03kMpYC7DYKjbxeE-hkpQ6U7t8Shr3iRTzGpxUnvdVM2ukrMUtf4yi4NDGF1WCIR4NxGB95XZW0HyNowOkU5KKbDQYI4B0RQ3poB1C-PXuFrWKORZndPgWdHu3pGtFEY4v7a6pLBQ/s1600/119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnF03kMpYC7DYKjbxeE-hkpQ6U7t8Shr3iRTzGpxUnvdVM2ukrMUtf4yi4NDGF1WCIR4NxGB95XZW0HyNowOkU5KKbDQYI4B0RQ3poB1C-PXuFrWKORZndPgWdHu3pGtFEY4v7a6pLBQ/s320/119.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
This is the view at the rest of the fort from above.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5riVehPjO5cbhXEBr61fiJePowJxZz1eNLi_zENI1V2MP6y_-7ykpPtOyVK7a1wNuqPywpFERMQK9tR7Yd_Gtm1RL5W_4o7FNnBZ6J34TwYFi3jY08_HUpHKVTUhyphenhyphendSYbU_o1a5pGjKg/s1600/117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5riVehPjO5cbhXEBr61fiJePowJxZz1eNLi_zENI1V2MP6y_-7ykpPtOyVK7a1wNuqPywpFERMQK9tR7Yd_Gtm1RL5W_4o7FNnBZ6J34TwYFi3jY08_HUpHKVTUhyphenhyphendSYbU_o1a5pGjKg/s320/117.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-3318290419650302142013-01-01T07:26:00.001-08:002013-01-01T08:01:51.447-08:00Snorkeling in the Oman Gulf<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_A-zoiHhAGNLynjjKv5LDyxIySnVHj7pIlnOrbWvfOmngXXoLnFu6cLK8Xl3AwwyDIHzexzpOAeFxjNZmLLHcwmr4-fwF31nv35lhAzeOlDcY0CPMOBuGzsxlGf11httbHVT5-8dC-40/s1600/075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_A-zoiHhAGNLynjjKv5LDyxIySnVHj7pIlnOrbWvfOmngXXoLnFu6cLK8Xl3AwwyDIHzexzpOAeFxjNZmLLHcwmr4-fwF31nv35lhAzeOlDcY0CPMOBuGzsxlGf11httbHVT5-8dC-40/s320/075.JPG" width="320" /></a>After settling into the Safeer International Hotel I talked to the receptionist to find out different tour groups the hotel recommended for day trips. I already had a couple things in mind, but was having trouble trying took book beforehand online. I figured the hotel would be able to accommodate my needs, and they were. They had a flyer with different things that we could do.<br />
<br />
One of these things was snorkeling, which was something I wanted to do. I also want to try diving, but currently am not certified to do so.<br />
<br />
Before I moved to Australia in 2009 I purchased a camera that you can use underwater with snorkeling in mind. When I went to the <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2011/01/great-barrier-reef.html">Great Barrier Reef</a>, I was with my parents and my Dad didn't want to go snorkeling. We instead went on a glass bottom boat, which ended up being okay.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRECFa4w48Tb3a-F97oXKCvp8cJlfJZrEYcFeFYWsN6zHIciXfMZsRFjAjCg2KX-clmOW6bwQXEzlad9doBjC3REIb0zPMzXbCtrNXGgbvLHYtr4EQB0iXZtRETQnqxkoSVD5N2qb7zU/s1600/070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRECFa4w48Tb3a-F97oXKCvp8cJlfJZrEYcFeFYWsN6zHIciXfMZsRFjAjCg2KX-clmOW6bwQXEzlad9doBjC3REIb0zPMzXbCtrNXGgbvLHYtr4EQB0iXZtRETQnqxkoSVD5N2qb7zU/s320/070.JPG" width="320" /></a>This time was different. Sure, the coral reef wasn't nearly as big as the natural wonder of the world, but I had nothing from holding me back snorkeling and using my no longer new under water camera.<br />
<br />
The trip included <a href="http://itmanallover.blogspot.com/2011/11/whale-watching.html">dolphin watching</a>, something I did while in Sri Lanka. It was cool, and there was a dolphin doing a lot of showing off. It would jump in the air and do a back flip. It did it several times. I don't have any good pictures of it, but I was amused regardless.<br />
<br />
After what seemed like too long watching the dolphins, the boat took off to a remote place near a private beach. The water was refreshing as it was a hot day on the boat at sea.<br />
<br />
It was relaxing, just laying in the ocean staring through my goggles at all the active fish and seeing the colours the aquatic life had to offer. Descriptions don't do the marine world justice, and frankly, neither do the photos.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JRYPfHL8Lf44aFBLDSpCy4upiLGO-1rkQol-xe6eUoeQdKW8STl276W9ayDFNbXxhyphenhyphentz5yGon-nuKScn2kBRkOcjLhzhgz1ZtYHPQArBvFtqm4iLDDtVqh8lCk3ZZbh1wPzUSGYcOa8/s1600/084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JRYPfHL8Lf44aFBLDSpCy4upiLGO-1rkQol-xe6eUoeQdKW8STl276W9ayDFNbXxhyphenhyphentz5yGon-nuKScn2kBRkOcjLhzhgz1ZtYHPQArBvFtqm4iLDDtVqh8lCk3ZZbh1wPzUSGYcOa8/s320/084.JPG" width="320" /></a>My favourite was the sea turtle I saw, just hanging out. It's shell pretty much blends right in with the coral. I didn't get a good full screen shot of the turtle, but I did get it's head and front legs with part of the shell.<br />
<br />
Overall, it was a good start to my visit to Oman. The guy who drove us from the hotel to the marina and back was very nice. He offered to drive us to the places we wanted to go at a discounted rate. Since we had not paid for the other things the hotel had booked for us yet, we cancelled and decided to go with our new Omani friend, Mohammad.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-31653276348194821322012-12-25T03:45:00.001-08:002012-12-25T03:45:48.726-08:00Muscat<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoIvDsZ_VCd8qyTK_hNOi_bTa7dwx6fM3tWEkAifoI3GYReaSyhxCx2utCw0_Zz92l5iBIFG_CkCm6LED-6lw2arbpTC8ect0hOnKQz-mXgGlpiTTC_0nbajHnkHK98YF2Ygghx25YfI/s1600/175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoIvDsZ_VCd8qyTK_hNOi_bTa7dwx6fM3tWEkAifoI3GYReaSyhxCx2utCw0_Zz92l5iBIFG_CkCm6LED-6lw2arbpTC8ect0hOnKQz-mXgGlpiTTC_0nbajHnkHK98YF2Ygghx25YfI/s320/175.JPG" width="320" /></a>In October I traveled south to view another country in the Middle East: Oman.<br />
<br />
The adventure started in the capital, Muscat and that was the base for my 6 day excursion. There are a lot of similarities between Oman and Kuwait, or specifically Muscat and Kuwait. They are both located on the Arabian Gulf and they both have wealth from vast amounts of oil. The climate is very similar and they are desert cities.<br />
<br />
There are several differences however. Muscat is actually quite pretty, being surrounded by mountains. The size of Oman also impacts my overall impression as there are other things around instead of the what you see is what you get feel of Kuwait. Culturally Oman still has the warm Arab hospitality but I get the sense they work harder than their northern counter parts. This impression comes from seeing Omanis working in customer service. Kuwait imports ex-pats for those types of jobs.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcV6WSmDh8HAnEytYAhFi6ISN3bK4QLEWCjZPpGEtDIjyKp6oVmpeKYfGcJ1Kf-jKLOdaYpjaJ2qcVELC3U8nrN-8ZM4r9uAvQy2DOD5rPxvnus5u9Xo4-lhZ3siwHaanfg8aYfTG9Ui0/s1600/177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcV6WSmDh8HAnEytYAhFi6ISN3bK4QLEWCjZPpGEtDIjyKp6oVmpeKYfGcJ1Kf-jKLOdaYpjaJ2qcVELC3U8nrN-8ZM4r9uAvQy2DOD5rPxvnus5u9Xo4-lhZ3siwHaanfg8aYfTG9Ui0/s320/177.JPG" width="320" /></a>Surprisingly, the population of Kuwait is larger than Oman despite the country being 17 times smaller. There are roughly the same amount of Kuwait nationals as Oman nationals however, the difference in population comes from the over 2 million (roughly 68%) workers from other countries in Kuwait compared to only about 600,000 in Oman.<br />
<br />
Another difference between the two countries was the care. Kuwait does not have adequate garbage disposal and as a result it is common to find garbage all over the place. This was not the case in Oman, the streets were clean! Or, a lot cleaner than Kuwait. I don't think there were nearly as many stray cats running around either. I am sure the garbage problem in Kuwait has a lot to do with the larger population in the smaller area. Still, it is discouraging to see all the garbage in a country with the wealth that Kuwait is supposed to possess.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qHckN2Na0C45iDi6y6flqto9O0JeqjfXrhburxRc7ijQYInXfTLiQ0jvjjW6tCKKOpaPf0Rw7C0H9m3PHvPAGV-nd9RAsbqFe-Np4xrs5zKoydgAEmSkCYXKXpURaS6wAPRhlLN-TNw/s1600/179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qHckN2Na0C45iDi6y6flqto9O0JeqjfXrhburxRc7ijQYInXfTLiQ0jvjjW6tCKKOpaPf0Rw7C0H9m3PHvPAGV-nd9RAsbqFe-Np4xrs5zKoydgAEmSkCYXKXpURaS6wAPRhlLN-TNw/s320/179.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
My first day in Muscat was spent relaxing and getting to know the area around my hotel. I had taken an early morning flight and had to wait for 2 hours or more to get through customs and buy my visa. After settling into the hotel I walked around the immediate area a bit and then went to visit the Muttrah Souq. A souq is a marketplace and this souq did not differ much from the souqs I have visited in Kuwait. It is located on the northern port of the city.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-50435661344328819902012-11-15T02:15:00.000-08:002015-01-11T03:07:55.958-08:00Semuc ChampeyI think one of the coolest trips I have ever taken was to Semuc Champey. It was completely worth the half a day travel from Antigua to Lanquin and then the other bumpy hour or so it took to get from Lanquin to this natural beauty.<br />
<br />
It was not easy getting to Lanquin; it was long, hot and towards the end quite bumpy. I took a shuttle bus from Antigua to Lanquin with several other tourists. There was a family from Spain as well as other Europeans and North Americans, including some Guatemalans. The driver spoke only Spanish, and everyone there seemed to be pretty competent in the language so I was a little lost and didn't speak up when I was not understanding. Most of it was during breaks and how much time we had and so on.<br />
<br />
One was accommodation. They were sorting out who to drop off where and which people needed to find a place to stay. I needed a place to stay, but that was not very clear to anyone because of the language barrier. Luckily the man from Spain helped me out and I was soon set to stay in a resort area right on the Lanquin river. I only had time to stay there for 2 nights. I got there late the first night and had to catch my ride early after the second night so that really left me only one day there.<br />
<br />
There were several things you could do there. but you could only really do one of them in a day. I had the option of tubing or exploring caves on a night walk, but if I chose to do one of them I would not have been able to see the under ground river. That was why I spent so much time in a van, so I was up early the next morning to do just that.<br />
<br />
The tour had us climb on the back of a pick up truck that had bars all around it. We stood, holding on to dear life to these bars as we took the 11km drive down the mountainside to Semuc. The ride was bumpy, the roads were twisty and narrow. In fact, 2 vehicles couldn't drive side by side so if we met another coming up one had to pull over to the side while the other passed by.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOSldG3_HI32zZS4lXSM6WG8-JVOAmd07V_120VKPy79kBKsqeK9MysQhOfadGjMZfPzK62U6oG9w1MW01_QgtB9gCq2M5n5Zqf-oXpqWQxAHooS6PEGxhI7ifByc4OUdEY5K2dW8i6s/s1600/188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOSldG3_HI32zZS4lXSM6WG8-JVOAmd07V_120VKPy79kBKsqeK9MysQhOfadGjMZfPzK62U6oG9w1MW01_QgtB9gCq2M5n5Zqf-oXpqWQxAHooS6PEGxhI7ifByc4OUdEY5K2dW8i6s/s320/188.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>Our first stop was a cave with water that ran through it. I had never experienced a cave before and while I can swim, I am not a strong swimmer. This did not phase me as I thrive on a little adventure. For some reason I was never given a candle like everyone else. I didn't speak up either and demand one because it is not in my nature and I wasn't sure I could handle swimming while holding a candle and trying to keep it lit.<br />
<br />
I brought my camera with me but the caves were quite dark and I did not
get a good picture opportunity. I took a couple pictures anyways. I really enjoyed the tour itself. Like I said, I had never been through a cave before and I enjoyed swimming in this dark cave dimly lit by small candles that moved as people tried to stay a float. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUjqlJwAA9DhoXITEqamZlGE5RWK9V_9XwisefW3ZRGCI4olUYkazZJzkLJbm4f0pJ4ihchxtpUBilgNX1jHCYIxQK2X15EbFi-OmxA1vAwZRKfq_N8rx1fiLPhVn8eD97AV7zI2KIjE/s1600/192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUjqlJwAA9DhoXITEqamZlGE5RWK9V_9XwisefW3ZRGCI4olUYkazZJzkLJbm4f0pJ4ihchxtpUBilgNX1jHCYIxQK2X15EbFi-OmxA1vAwZRKfq_N8rx1fiLPhVn8eD97AV7zI2KIjE/s320/192.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
There were rocks that were quite slippery and there were different areas where we had to climb up rock ladders or ropes. We even had to walk through a small water fall.<br />
<br />
To add to the fun, at times our tour guides stopped us to do something crazy. Do you think I was adventurous enough to climb up the cliff about 10 feet and jump--blindly--into a small part of the cave with deep water all around?<br />
<br />
Believe it or not I was not that adventurous. I think part of the reason is because I didn't know anyone on the tour. I was not with friends and thus did not care if I didn't look so adventurous. I am pretty sure if I was with a good friend I would have attempted the seemingly dangerous feat. Had my friend gone first, I would have been left with no choice but to do it. I guess that saying "if your friend jumped off the bridge, would you?" applies. I'd ask a question first. Did my friend survive, with little to no injuries? Then why not, if he can do it I can too!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiD48_QQMbO3OCbnWKqv2VoaNfkuoU3-sLVsg_M1aJVz3qfTS3TTTNY6UijR8e1uWf1z9EEAjE7EsSqAX2Y4GPmLEViQMbaQmIftVls5MMtpYHe25yVbo_XQqHan-q-SpkQfedTgnno0/s1600/197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbiD48_QQMbO3OCbnWKqv2VoaNfkuoU3-sLVsg_M1aJVz3qfTS3TTTNY6UijR8e1uWf1z9EEAjE7EsSqAX2Y4GPmLEViQMbaQmIftVls5MMtpYHe25yVbo_XQqHan-q-SpkQfedTgnno0/s320/197.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
No friend here meant no risk.<br />
<br />
After the adventure through the cave came the relaxing part of the day. Semuc Champey is a collection of limestone pools that sits on top of an underground river. The water is crystal clear and very refreshing to swim in.<br />
<br />
There are several pools to choose from, all on different levels. Our guide started us on the higher level and we swam down through all the pools. We stopped occasionally to take turns jumping down into the next area, or to slide down the rocks into the water below. I once again did no jumping.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0OYzKnnCfOBS1dBnqiB4_qY2l3-ypT6Ee4GOPF-64a3t5KpUtgLmyA_Wtp44fzbKRN0AB_eLrHFp8v7tMJSm8jlUzRYPZ6MJdsE9-aHvh-OXJavRTQFmLdvoV43XYH-SAbWeXmsHQiQ/s1600/199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0OYzKnnCfOBS1dBnqiB4_qY2l3-ypT6Ee4GOPF-64a3t5KpUtgLmyA_Wtp44fzbKRN0AB_eLrHFp8v7tMJSm8jlUzRYPZ6MJdsE9-aHvh-OXJavRTQFmLdvoV43XYH-SAbWeXmsHQiQ/s320/199.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
In the water when I sat on the rock in the shallow part of the limestone pool, small fish swam over to my feet and started nibbling them. It didn't hurt, they were just eating the dead skin off my feet. It actually reminded me of Dr. Fish in Korea. This of course was more natural.<br />
<br />
I could not have chosen a better day to visit. It was warm and the sky was so blue. I was very fortunate. The weather made swimming in the limestone pools that much more refreshing!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkhup44REi0ickr7AlzoxVu67KsUyyS3buMNoWvatdQFnnkLQ6nUCY_GMuABxxK3rG-JvaI0KNsGaSXMs3yUXqeCEk6iuP9HJRctGHgQYlUwVgM4m_n8zUkXpoRw1OwjWFKkBHHj_dxc/s1600/205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkhup44REi0ickr7AlzoxVu67KsUyyS3buMNoWvatdQFnnkLQ6nUCY_GMuABxxK3rG-JvaI0KNsGaSXMs3yUXqeCEk6iuP9HJRctGHgQYlUwVgM4m_n8zUkXpoRw1OwjWFKkBHHj_dxc/s320/205.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Just beyond the beginning of the lime pools is the Cahabon river, which runs underneath where we were swimming. This picture is where the river starts to run under ground.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Zii2lIQr1JGdU_JzCFdWCpqhJVAU7xOPcLcTZyoQ1B1d3CfMVITFctG_RTXxbUzwXoL1ADnsymI3cKFuTNs0YTDbNE1NIV8ax_VcT_KUBqwIsrxmSp8Gv9XwC7KIRD6JBOeHCQPmTI0/s1600/217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Zii2lIQr1JGdU_JzCFdWCpqhJVAU7xOPcLcTZyoQ1B1d3CfMVITFctG_RTXxbUzwXoL1ADnsymI3cKFuTNs0YTDbNE1NIV8ax_VcT_KUBqwIsrxmSp8Gv9XwC7KIRD6JBOeHCQPmTI0/s320/217.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
We ended the eventful day with a long hike up to a lookout point where we could get an aerial view of the limestone pools. It was a great way to end an awesome day. It leaves me wondering if I will ever make my way back to this remote, hard to get to paradise. If there is one place I would recommend going to, it would be Semuc Champey.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-49664599045902802042012-11-09T10:16:00.000-08:002012-11-09T10:16:54.755-08:00Lago de Atitlan<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaxEU9-tkNP9wPTYLgJQR9HtG3HkTioEMA48EDUtRWQJJmehl0xjt8fKB4C38xiN5kUJfw9oYF2GupSBvEZp0Ve0_NlwQ0-bmY8JYNTaRznvM1eAtctm3TVaPhiHQmvBz-VvdJqHkDZI/s1600/119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEaxEU9-tkNP9wPTYLgJQR9HtG3HkTioEMA48EDUtRWQJJmehl0xjt8fKB4C38xiN5kUJfw9oYF2GupSBvEZp0Ve0_NlwQ0-bmY8JYNTaRznvM1eAtctm3TVaPhiHQmvBz-VvdJqHkDZI/s320/119.JPG" width="320" /></a>One can't miss spot in Guatemala is the lake. It is beautiful and is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. It is in the highlands and it does not flow to the sea.<br />
<br />
There are an abundance of small towns on the lake to stay on and I chose San Pedro at the foot of a volcano by the same name. It was recommended by friends from the volunteer house. I am sure any town would have been beautiful as the surrounding scene was amazing.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRO1KuLZTf4CD8C8qeoVhj-bDBE9PqqwdBrhyphenhyphennKlFRZ4vTY2sSqtBk6NhVuYMR2qGEh21Q8kHiqjTh8EpWuAlIEwGsLVVn5KUGJlAO_8Yi-vhOUi0UXsk1X-5qgKz15OCGKuZD5qnwxDQ/s1600/178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRO1KuLZTf4CD8C8qeoVhj-bDBE9PqqwdBrhyphenhyphennKlFRZ4vTY2sSqtBk6NhVuYMR2qGEh21Q8kHiqjTh8EpWuAlIEwGsLVVn5KUGJlAO_8Yi-vhOUi0UXsk1X-5qgKz15OCGKuZD5qnwxDQ/s320/178.JPG" width="240" /></a>One famous thing to do at the lake is learn Spanish. When I arrived I noticed an abundance of Spanish language schools. From what I understood, these schools gave daily instruction for a few hours combined with an immersion program that housed you with a family. Tuition was cheap and included room and board where you would be forced to speak Spanish regularly. If I were to go to Guatemala again, I would stay on the lake and take lessons to improve my Spanish.<br />
<br />
San Pedro had a lot of tourists as well as English speaking residents. With all the Spanish schools that is not a surprise. I met a few retirees from the United States who now call Guatemala and Lake Atitlan home.<br />
<br />
I took a chicken bus to the town of Panajachel where I caught a water taxi to San Pedro. I spent two nights there. The first day I walked around with my camera and snapped some pictures of the lake and then ate on a rooftop balcony with a view. The next day I climbed the volcano in the area and then I spent time relaxing and reading on a large rock I found right in the lake. I could not have chosen a better day to do this as the sky was so blue and absent of clouds.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZCTSdMKEojqp9NWTX5YDLyJEMpi6Uvjdx6XRb1GmH0AAf_HbxWzfmL_y2SFJMWRmosYn3dZNNJwZt4WP3VKmaNBHHf5WDBJRFkAbTfGKvYxW-CZlzM6T-kpH-EGmCsO9kBK_4mTWKPc/s1600/180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZCTSdMKEojqp9NWTX5YDLyJEMpi6Uvjdx6XRb1GmH0AAf_HbxWzfmL_y2SFJMWRmosYn3dZNNJwZt4WP3VKmaNBHHf5WDBJRFkAbTfGKvYxW-CZlzM6T-kpH-EGmCsO9kBK_4mTWKPc/s200/180.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Eventually a cloud did show up, but it was still a gorgeous day. I celebrated by getting a sun burn.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8431815058734512896.post-22859357024197738362012-10-24T07:15:00.003-07:002012-10-24T07:15:35.467-07:00Volcan PacayaI desired to do one thing on my first trip to Antigua, and that was climb a volcano.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjfGr6Lv0ry3c7rOwLrwBeixfk7_gFlAeSoKTElSFsR5lVVKKQLfiOBsxuUIUNqEgMXPJgHK35INIUrEqOCKMPPkqgGoJV9tZ-8T039B2fZhFJWovSealgqOtPStkr1cKW_UeAlJOsi4/s1600/066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjfGr6Lv0ry3c7rOwLrwBeixfk7_gFlAeSoKTElSFsR5lVVKKQLfiOBsxuUIUNqEgMXPJgHK35INIUrEqOCKMPPkqgGoJV9tZ-8T039B2fZhFJWovSealgqOtPStkr1cKW_UeAlJOsi4/s200/066.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
Why not? It combines my exercise and outdoor enjoyment with my love of beautiful sites and picture opportunities. Oh yeah, I have also never climbed a volcano before, so this was beyond cool.<br />
<br />
I signed up for the 6am trip the afternoon before partaking. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical that everything would work out. I paid the hotel receptionist for the trip and in return she gave me a piece of paper filled out in pen. Had I been in Canada I may have asked what year it was, but I guess it didn't seem nearly as weird in Guatemala.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWENovGrxg1jvr2GvgFfpT6E3a7RbnuGg8HZbnTjkoFJilp855pXq9O21ixrtupgBsWESMqxIahxNjU-fOgzaKnscoC9hIqDoLh7GA-HZG53sguYRCtkLWNMZyYWByzq8qT2kDgNUu0o/s1600/071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWENovGrxg1jvr2GvgFfpT6E3a7RbnuGg8HZbnTjkoFJilp855pXq9O21ixrtupgBsWESMqxIahxNjU-fOgzaKnscoC9hIqDoLh7GA-HZG53sguYRCtkLWNMZyYWByzq8qT2kDgNUu0o/s320/071.JPG" width="320" /></a>I easily could have been ripped off. I went to bed late the night before and there were some fellow hostel dwellers who came in rather late. Needless to say, I didn't sleep the best. I also didn't set my alarm properly. Luckily the bus driver for my trip came into the room looking for me, and subsequently woke up everyone else in the hostel room. My friend from San Francisco decided he didn't sleep well enough and he was not going to go.<br />
<br />
Do you think losing my partner in crime would stop me? Of course not. I usually do things solo anyways. I rolled out of bed and onto the bus. An hour and a half later I--along with the other eager volcano climbers--were at the foot of Volcan Pacaya.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_g3TfJC7gP6aWoqCvzuNyqAju-SmJcazVR5Msry_M3fhaeclEtUkn7w69IGuYDawyTI4Xbed-GKvz-3x4zLknMPevBsSTd5juwoIXqv1g4Exr_hIY0cciRqAYzTgnHmyO2RW2aZN480/s1600/079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_g3TfJC7gP6aWoqCvzuNyqAju-SmJcazVR5Msry_M3fhaeclEtUkn7w69IGuYDawyTI4Xbed-GKvz-3x4zLknMPevBsSTd5juwoIXqv1g4Exr_hIY0cciRqAYzTgnHmyO2RW2aZN480/s320/079.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
The coolest thing about this volcano was it is active. There was a lot of contrast on the walk up the volcano, from the green mountain scenery at the start of the walk to the dull ash gray when we neared the top. We couldn't go to the absolute top because it is after all active, but we did get high enough where we could enjoy the warmth of the craters.<br />
<br />
The altitude and the early morning made it pretty cold on the way up, but the exercise made me pretty warm. The real problem was when we stopped to enjoy the surroundings. By the time the hike up the mountain had made me damp with sweat while being 8000 feet in the air and the sun hiding behind clouds made me shiver. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBRLxj7jFhk9eJS-weUwDPX1mbCozZe4wiA_YRmunu3GMZZy5QMopKxBkEJjokKazYosLtFCMnLr8kLLXach1_Ct6f8oS7z917V3KE32aHM5JNlwQCJor48bAINIXY6jHs8bMFgnFZu8/s1600/083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBRLxj7jFhk9eJS-weUwDPX1mbCozZe4wiA_YRmunu3GMZZy5QMopKxBkEJjokKazYosLtFCMnLr8kLLXach1_Ct6f8oS7z917V3KE32aHM5JNlwQCJor48bAINIXY6jHs8bMFgnFZu8/s200/083.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ceqluTWVGwdS6x03sFkCdKsMqPipvSYAdxOYC9gzmk3SaXRt3X0uAgysjohZsZC3_dlB1-ikE2IYWN2LS74DI-AuSjStjhbOam5zc_g9Kkd75IyaXrWX4ng90JML3g-IdPhoDWmYzrA/s1600/084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ceqluTWVGwdS6x03sFkCdKsMqPipvSYAdxOYC9gzmk3SaXRt3X0uAgysjohZsZC3_dlB1-ikE2IYWN2LS74DI-AuSjStjhbOam5zc_g9Kkd75IyaXrWX4ng90JML3g-IdPhoDWmYzrA/s200/084.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
While on the top we roasted marshmellows. By roasted, of course I mean warmed them up slightly in a crater.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EwVbuLKd3BXOFrbfPvbyNZWPYk2UhoGS83cF7ir4UY98B5upyMxA3ECbc4U-z1yDsm6PcYmYz_KhQ_H5w4Y8ZU42Hpl4TPpG7FzFfIXhXuTzZUjv7n5xKNdjyDD0O3Y2Kj7bRG71lC4/s1600/097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EwVbuLKd3BXOFrbfPvbyNZWPYk2UhoGS83cF7ir4UY98B5upyMxA3ECbc4U-z1yDsm6PcYmYz_KhQ_H5w4Y8ZU42Hpl4TPpG7FzFfIXhXuTzZUjv7n5xKNdjyDD0O3Y2Kj7bRG71lC4/s200/097.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
.The trip up the volcano was great for the exercise, the fresh air and the opportunity to start to see the beautiful country I was residing in for the month. It was only the start of an amazing country.<span id="goog_1390219593"></span><span id="goog_1390219594"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-19364758-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script></div>Andy Weilerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00142139837688152487noreply@blogger.com0