Hello from Shanghai

I've arrived in Shanghai on business. Just got in a couple of hours ago, and decided to kill sometime by going for a walk along Nanjing Rd. -- "China's historic No. 1 shopping street. This Oxford Street of the East extends to over 5km from the Bund to Jing'an Temple including Nanjing Road East Pedestrian Street. Many shops are open till 10 p.m." I've forgotten what an entertainment the street could be. I got propositioned every few steps: "Watches, DVD, MP3, iPod, iPhone, t-shirt, sexy girl massage." It was the same thing, in the same order, from many of the street hucksters. I didn't bite, especially since they all pointed down a less than welcoming side street as the destination to finalize the deal. I did stop in the official Beijing Olympics store to make a couple of gift purchases, however. They had some cool merchandise -- probably once in a lifetime purchase.

On another interesting note: entering mainland China requires the filling out of an arrival and departure card. Most countries have these, and I guess it's an exercise to keep track of visitors. On the back of the Chinese card, was printed the following:

Important Notice

1. Aliens who do not lodge at hotels, guesthouses or inns shall, within 24 hours (72 hours in rural areas) of entry, go through accommodation registration at local police station.
2. Aliens holding visas Z, X or J-1 shall, within 30 days of entry, apply for Residence Permits to the exit-entry department of the public security bureau of the city where the applicants reside.
3. Aliens shall not be employed in China without permission of the competent authorities of the Chinese Government.
4. Aliens who reside or stay in China shall carry with themselves their passports or Residence Permits for possible examination.
5. In case of emergency, please dial 110 to seek help from police.

Those are the rules. I'm obeying them.

View from my Hotel

This is what I see when I look out my window from the 16th floor of the Langham hotel in Kowloon. And no, it's not a funky camera -- just a panorama.

Hello from Kowloon

I'm currently in Hong Kong on business. Spent most of my day today indoors, working. But, I had to get out around noon, since I was starving. I took a walk (see map below) from my hotel to Flower Market Street (a street just with flower shops -- I kid you not). It was a bit of a walk -- 4.4km according to Google Maps. Not bad, but I think I lost a year off with the walk. It was around 31 Celsius today, and quite sticky humid. Nathan Road was crowded with people -- and the air was stifling with smog. You couldn't really see it, but you could breathe it. It was thick, and with the humidity, it was like breathing soup -- really bad soup. The air was also filled with smells -- which I'm not going to comment on, other to say that your imagination has nothing on the reality. Along the way on Nathan, was a block guarded by giant Banyan trees. It was totally cool -- something I had never seen before. Especially to see them cropping out of sides of the roads. I also took the photo to the right of an outdoor market. I walked through it, and it definitely made for good people watching. Surprisingly, the smog and the smells were absent there.


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Caption this

This is funny in many ways ... I can't even begin to caption it however.

26 elements have been added since 1923, when will it end?

The reDiscovery Institute ... I'll let them speak for themselves:

The reDiscovery Institute is non-profit, public-policy think-tank located in Tacoma, Washington, with branches in Atlanta, Georgia and Fort Worth, Texas. The reDiscovery Institute fosters integration of science education with traditional Judeo-Christian principles of free market, limited government, property, faith, and corporal punishment.

The best!

Survival

Mary Ellen Park Photography

Mary Ellen Mark's documentary photography: 1987 - 1997 ... demonstrating the power of the art form. Check out the rest of the photos in the afterword, complete with a little story to set context. Very powerful.

Cheers

What we take for granted ...

Steven Segal's Emotion Chart