Shanghai: China for the Sheepish

If you're concerned about traveling too far out of your comfort zone but would like to visit Asia, I have a place for you and it's called Shanghai. Glitzy, modern, fresh and familiar, Shanghai is the place to go if you want to experience China but not feel too much like you're in the twilight zone. We arrived here yesterday and are staying in the Daning area of Shanghai. We are right across the street from a huge western influenced pedestrian shopping area. When I walk outside I feel like Im right back at home. Usually, I shy away from these kinds of places when we're on travel and enjoy fully immersing myself in the local culture of wherever we are. I have to say though, it's nice to have at least 2 days of home away from home before we head off for the more out of the way areas of Xi'an and Guilin.

Downtown Shanghai is reminiscent of London and New York with huge shopping areas, lots of skyscrapers and beautiful museums. If you took away the signs in Mandarin you wouldn't know you were in China. Shanghai boasts a whopping 6,000 skyscrapers as well as the famous strip known as The Bund. Heavily influenced by it's past ties with the English and French, Shanghai is a modern city with it's eye on the future. Despite being treated as a bit of a step child in 70s and 80s, it is making a resurgence as China's premiere city for foreign travelers.

Of course, all of this could possibly be influenced by my euphoria after getting the most amazing hour long foot massage downstairs in the spa for the horrifically low price of $30 USD. At least there's one place in the world where the dollar is worth something!

Saying Goodbye to Beijing

Today was our last full day in Beijing. Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai for two days. After that it's Xi'an and Guilin. These past couple days ahve been pretty relaxing. We took a taxi out to the Summer Palace the other day which was just beautiful. Of course, there were the droves of people wanting pictures with Maya but overall it went well. The Imperial Summer Palace complex is huge with many beautiful buildings and temples the most beautiful of which was the Temple of the Fragrance of Buddha. There was also the beautifully restored Long Corridor which was a covered walkway spanning several hundred feet with over 14,000 intricate paintings on the ceilings.

Yesterday we accomplished almost nothing with the exception of going to the Silk Market. The Silk Market is know world wide for being the place to go for high quality fakes. They had fake everything from Polo Ralph Lauren to Dolce & Gabbana. Going there with Maya proved difficult as she wanted to say hi to anyone and everyone which just got them engaged in conversation. While we didnt stay long we did manage to score and incredible carved wooden mask. It's so awesome. I can't wait to hang it. Maya even got a four faced buddha out of the deal which she was very happy about.

Today was Hou Hai area and the Bei Hai Park area. Maya loved walking around and seeing all the fish. We even got her a little parisol to walk around with.

So far I've been a little disappointed in my findings for things for kids to do. I know there is stuff to do, but it's not as readily accessible as I thought it would be. We've shied away from the zoo and the aquarium just because of worries that the quality wouldnt be that good. Beyond that, Ive not seen one playground. It's really a shame. Hopefully, the other cities we visit will boast more kid friendly areas.

The Great Wall of Maya

Today we took a tour of the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall was absolutely amazing. We got to ride this sort of roller coaster thing up to one of the higher points and then walked up it for a bit. Maya was better today. In fact she did very well as it seemed like the entire population of China wanted to have their picture taken with her while we were walking. I think at first she didn't mind but after a while it got taxing and at times it was a little weird because she would literally attract crowds of people. Im VERY glad that I cut off so much of her hair before we left. I can't imagine what it would have been like if she still had her waist length hair. I know they all meant well and were just doing it for good luck but really after a while I felt like I was a child celebrity's body guard. Looking back I feel kind of bad letting so many people take her picture. She wasnt really scared but I know she got tired of it.

The whole thing with her hair is just very odd to me. The reason why it's so popular is because, in Chinese culture, the color red is very lucky. So I think for them Maya is like a living good luck doll and they all want to be next to her, to touch her hair, to be next to this walking symbol of good luck. In the states, people see her hair and do comment on how pretty it is, but it's not like this. Don't get me wrong, Im not insulted or concerned. It's just weird to be in the position of granting picture after picture after picture to people I can't even talk to. Im not so sure about all those dreams I had of being a movie star when I was a kid now lol.

Entering the Dragon: A Family Trip to China

Well, we've finally made it to China. I didn't get a chance to post before we left because I was so busy getting everything ready for us being gone for two weeks. So far things are good. The flight here was actually pretty good for a 13 hour flight. Maya did pretty well despite asking me to go to the bathroom about 50 times. Once we got here I was amazed at two things. One was how many "western" style stores and buildings there were. It looks like any other major city in the U.S. with one exception, which brings me to my second thing I was amazed at. That is the pollution here. It's horrible. I can't tell if it's overcast today or if I can't see the sun because it's just that smoggy. Even if it is overcast, you can't see further than maybe about a mile or a mile and a half in front of you. After that, everything is enveloped in a thick fog of exhaust and dust.

Maya has only done so so as of yet. We had a lot of trouble getting her into this trip and every time we brought it up she would get mad. Now that we're here, she's been even worse. I'm not sure why she's being this way. I don't know if its just that she's tired from the time change or she really just isnt happy being here. Either way right now it's been kind of miserable for all of us. It's the first trip that she's been this way so it has taken me aback a bit. I can only hope that she starts to enjoy herself because we've got two weeks here. She is getting a bit of the celebrity treatment though because everyone wants a picture with her. We had the funniest experience today. She's learned how to say "nihao" which means hello so, of course, she says it to everyone. At one point she said it to a big group and, en masse, said "nihao!" right back to her. It was hilarious.


One bright spot is our hotel. It's awesome. We're staying at the Park Plaza and we upgraded our room to a suite which is really nice when we're here for a fully week. I feel like a rich person :). Really, though, the two rooms is nice because Josh and I can do other things while Maya takes a nap. There was a great buffet this morning and we all filled up before we went out to the Temple of Heaven which was beautiful. Maya and I even picked up a cool game that people were playing with these rubbery paddles and soft balls. Oh well, off to do more exploring!

New Years 2008: Tunisia!

Well we just bought the tickets and we're off to Tunis, Tunisia for New Years this year. It should be awesome as Tunis looks beautiful! I can't wait!!!!!