A day in the life here often includes grocery shopping. Most of the locals literally do there shopping on a daily basis. I generally go 2-3 times a week. However it's a bit more complicated. I end up going to three places typically. The first being an "import" store where I can get many things like canned soups, salad dressing, mustard, tuna fish, etc. There is also a deli of sorts, meat section and bakery. From there I walk home carrying my bag or bags. Then it is a trip to another "import" type store that has a tremendous amount of fresh veggies and fruits. While they have the other stuff the selection is much more sparse. Lastly I make a stop at convenience store close to home and buy liquids - juices, gatorade and soda. Reason being you the heavy stuff like that takes it's tool walking around the city so it's best to do close to home.
All in all I can find most anything I need but generally need 2-3 stops to get it done. By the time I get home I'm either ready to eat or ready to take a nap...or both!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Swimming Pool
I can't take credit for this. It was on a weekly recap of images on MSNBC. However this is from the 4th of July at a swimming pool in Sichuan Province of China. There have been massive heat waves through the country including Beijing having high's of about 107-109 degrees for a week straight. That heat wave is supposed to come our way this week after the rainy season ends.
As for the photo, I would be shocked if someone didn't drown in conditions like that!
As for the photo, I would be shocked if someone didn't drown in conditions like that!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Chinese bar scene
This last Friday night I went out for Taiwanese dinner with a Chinese buddy of mine from Shenzhen. I think it was the first time eating TW food and it was pretty good. Only slightly different from some of the mainland dishes but all in all a bit more refined or western.
From there we went out to a couple of Chinese clubs. The first one was ok and had a fair amount of foreigners in it. The 2nd one he had friends at but was literally almost 100% local Shanghainese. I think I only saw one or two other foreigners in there.
The scene was pumping loud western music and lights flashing. And when I say loud it was LOUD! Barry knew a group of folks so we hung out with them. A few spoke English but many didn't. The language barrier was no problem thanks to the whiskey. They were doing bottle after bottle of whiskey mixed with green tea. Actually tasted pretty good.
The tables around us though were in rare form. It seemed to be each table trying to outdo the others on champagne. One table I swear went through 25-30 bottles. They just kept coming and coming. This was the socialite scene of Shanghai and part of the scene is to buy for everyone and show that you have money. One would have thought we were in LV, LA, NY or somewhere else and not Shanghai. I'm guessing that some of the guests were celebrities or children of government folks. This was the one place in all of China where they did not allow cameras and photos.
Upon leaving I noticed a fair amount of Ferrari's, Porsche's, etc. So yes this was the upscale crowd.
Wisely I went home early. However Sat when I awoke my ears were still ringing thanks to the loud-ass music!
A fun time but not one that I am planning to make on a weekly routine.
From there we went out to a couple of Chinese clubs. The first one was ok and had a fair amount of foreigners in it. The 2nd one he had friends at but was literally almost 100% local Shanghainese. I think I only saw one or two other foreigners in there.
The scene was pumping loud western music and lights flashing. And when I say loud it was LOUD! Barry knew a group of folks so we hung out with them. A few spoke English but many didn't. The language barrier was no problem thanks to the whiskey. They were doing bottle after bottle of whiskey mixed with green tea. Actually tasted pretty good.
The tables around us though were in rare form. It seemed to be each table trying to outdo the others on champagne. One table I swear went through 25-30 bottles. They just kept coming and coming. This was the socialite scene of Shanghai and part of the scene is to buy for everyone and show that you have money. One would have thought we were in LV, LA, NY or somewhere else and not Shanghai. I'm guessing that some of the guests were celebrities or children of government folks. This was the one place in all of China where they did not allow cameras and photos.
Upon leaving I noticed a fair amount of Ferrari's, Porsche's, etc. So yes this was the upscale crowd.
Wisely I went home early. However Sat when I awoke my ears were still ringing thanks to the loud-ass music!
A fun time but not one that I am planning to make on a weekly routine.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Shanghai Expo 2010
A couple of weeks ago I was invited as a VIP Customer of Fed Ex to the Shanghai Expo 2010. They were launching new freight service from Shanghai and used this as their platform. We were driven to the Expo, entered through a VIP service line and then directly into the US Pavilion as VIP's. Not bad all in all other than the rainy weather. From there we were served an awesome lunch and heard a few speeches about their service. The end was VIP access to the US Pavilion and I must say it was unimpressive.
US laws prevent any public funds from being used for a world expo. So all the money ($61 million) used to build was through private funds spearheaded by Hillary Clinton. The pavilion itself was a series of 3 movies each 7-10 min in length. The first was intriguing in that it was something to the effect of "Can Westerners speak Chinese?" There were many celebrities, politicians and regular folks trying to speak Chinese. Some successfully others not so. All in all rather humorous. After that I was unimpressed with the rest.
After the US Pavilion we were free to enjoy the rest of the Expo on our own. What I saw was staggering. It was line after line of people to get into all the pavilions. The shortest would be 2-3 hours and the longest is upwards of 6 hours for the popular ones like Saudi Arabia. The China pavilion requires a reservation and those 30,000 typically disappear within 20 minutes each morning so that was out.
Basically I just wandered around taking photos and was shocked by the amount of people lining up to get into these wonders. Many of the building are truly amazing wonders. However I'm not sure what was inside of them.
The Expo lasts until end of October so I'm sure I will go back later on hopefully as the crowds diminish or in the evening.
Here is a view of the US....
Here is the UK. Very cool looking futuristic building. While it looks a bit fuzzy trust me that the image is clear, this is what it looks like in person...
A view of Germany and some of the crowds...
A view of one of the lines that goes back and forth waiting just to get in. They are pretty strict on people entering and leaving the lines so that means no chance to get something to eat/drink, go to the bathroom, sit down, etc. I didn't take any photos buy many people bought small little folding stools that were maybe 8"x8"x8" to rest on.
As I was leaving I couldn't help but notice a number of folks sleeping on benches getting some rest after waiting in lines all day....
US laws prevent any public funds from being used for a world expo. So all the money ($61 million) used to build was through private funds spearheaded by Hillary Clinton. The pavilion itself was a series of 3 movies each 7-10 min in length. The first was intriguing in that it was something to the effect of "Can Westerners speak Chinese?" There were many celebrities, politicians and regular folks trying to speak Chinese. Some successfully others not so. All in all rather humorous. After that I was unimpressed with the rest.
After the US Pavilion we were free to enjoy the rest of the Expo on our own. What I saw was staggering. It was line after line of people to get into all the pavilions. The shortest would be 2-3 hours and the longest is upwards of 6 hours for the popular ones like Saudi Arabia. The China pavilion requires a reservation and those 30,000 typically disappear within 20 minutes each morning so that was out.
Basically I just wandered around taking photos and was shocked by the amount of people lining up to get into these wonders. Many of the building are truly amazing wonders. However I'm not sure what was inside of them.
The Expo lasts until end of October so I'm sure I will go back later on hopefully as the crowds diminish or in the evening.
Here is a view of the US....
As I was leaving I couldn't help but notice a number of folks sleeping on benches getting some rest after waiting in lines all day....
Haircuts
I'm continually amazed by the challenges of getting a haircut here. I've now gotten about 3 cuts here in Shanghai from a very local place. First time cost me 30RMB (about $4.40). Next time, same place it only cost 20RMB ($2.95). Then the other day it dropped to 15RMB ($2.15) plus he wouldn't accept any sort of tip. The folks here do not speak a word of English.
I'm pretty sure the haircuts are terrible but oh well not worth going to an expensive place. I've had cuts where the folks getting cuts in the seats next to me are smoking cigarettes. And always there are a slew of fellow employees who stand around near by and watch my hair getting cut. I didn't think I was all that important!
I'm pretty sure the haircuts are terrible but oh well not worth going to an expensive place. I've had cuts where the folks getting cuts in the seats next to me are smoking cigarettes. And always there are a slew of fellow employees who stand around near by and watch my hair getting cut. I didn't think I was all that important!
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