sanitation workers in Shangri-La Hitting the homestretch now. Back in Beijing, and spending time with my Chinese colleagues. I’ll write more about this later, but for now, I’ll just say that it’s been a very productive few days, and as a nice bonus, as far as social settings go, I’m actually hanging in there, which [...]
We interrupt the China travelogues to bring you a quick technology wank. Slate reviews The Best Ergonomic Keyboards on the Market. Somehow the Kinesis Advantage was the winner, scoring 25/30 points. I actually tried this keyboard a while ago and found it completely unusable for one simple reason: the escape key is too small. Now, [...]
rare image of clouds in Nanjing Nanjing is what I had in mind when I imagined urban China. Lots of bikes and Buicks, well-worn buildings interspersed amongst a few new ones, hustle without bustle. She’s the old capital of China, and moves at an appropriately stately pace. Her robes are beginning to threadbare, but the [...]
good role models, old Lijiang Shanghai is a hustling bustling frenetic locus of human activity. As you blast through the city in a screaming taxi with the angel of death sitting shotgun, dodging lumbering whale buses and zippy bike and scooter minnows, the future winks back. Shiny-ancient construction projects sprout wildly, straining up to the [...]
Tibetan script inscribed on a brick, Shangri-La drying laundry, Hangzou riding the “bullet” train from Shanghai to Hangzou The official part of the tour ended today. [Praise the deity of choice here.] It’s been a fun two weeks, but I’m looking forward both to unstructured time and me time. I must be getting cranky in [...]
holy pile of rocks, Shangri-La Chiangs minus one Yangtze River, Shanghai Ass sitting all day Planes, buses, taxis, oh my Made it to Shanghai!
krazy karst Holy smokes, time flies. Apologies in advance for the terseness of this entry; I’m more taking notes for myself to maybe expand upon later, but the activity to time density has been extremely high that I’m already starting to forget some of the things we did. Tip o’ the hat to… Stone Forest [...]
modern voodoo I’ve had some on-again off-again mysterious chronic foot pain for the past year or so, and the hours of relentless walking in Beijing took their toll in the form of a flare-up that resembled a mini-case of elephantiasis. I won’t say that it was miserable, since I reserve that word for situations where [...]
haze at the Summer Palace Bird’s Nest light fixture mom and Victor at the Olympic center Great Wall
Big. That’s the first thing you notice when you deplane in Beijing. Everything in China is big. Sorry Texas. The airport is huge, sleek, and modern. Frankfurt always seemed pretty swell to me, but Beijing is a serious contender. And if you don’t get the hint in the airport itself, the huge eight-lane highways should [...]