I stayed in for Halloween last night. It was my first Halloween here and I wanted to experience it but for some reason felt like staying in. My mom and uncle even called to encourage me to go out for a bit. A lot of people ask if China celebrates Halloween and they do. It is not as big as the US but every club had a Halloween theme and I heard the parties were pretty crazy.
Last night, my buddy emailed me and asked if I wanted to go to Church tomorrow and I replied, YES I DO. Strangely enough, when I was checking my email the next morning, my other friend from SF emailed me to check out a popular foreigners only Church called Shanghai Community Fellowship. They were both talking about the same one. That was confirmation to me to check it out.
No words can explain what happened next. When I got to the Church, I found a seat in the last row on the left. As I saw down and looked up, I started crying uncontrollably for 30 minutes. I was slightly embarrassed as I was not sure what was going on. It seemed every song I heard and everything I saw made me cry. My buddy was not there yet as he was running late. I told him what happened afterwards and he said, “It means you found home.”
When thinking back on the situation, it did feel like I found home. I felt a sense of accomplishment bigger than anything else I felt in a long time. I did not have this feeling when I attended fellowship in SF or LA. I questioned myself; did God really bring me halfway across the world to experience this? And why Shanghai?
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
World Series, GIANTS vs. Rangers!
Today was Game One of the World Series and my friend found a bar that airs it at 730am. There was surprisingly a good amount of Giants fan there. My friend works at Expo and I met a couple of her co-workers. I was planning on going to Expo at night and one of them agreed to get me into USA Pavilion without waiting in line. The normal wait time is three plus hours.
Unfortunately, I left my phone at home so too bad for me. It was the last week of Expo already and I did not want to come back. There is probably going to be more people than usual and I was so done with walking Expo. I am glad I went at night because it is so different from the daytime. Even though I did not go into the USA Pavilion, I took more than enough pictures as souvenirs.
Giants Won so same routine tomorrow.
Unfortunately, I left my phone at home so too bad for me. It was the last week of Expo already and I did not want to come back. There is probably going to be more people than usual and I was so done with walking Expo. I am glad I went at night because it is so different from the daytime. Even though I did not go into the USA Pavilion, I took more than enough pictures as souvenirs.
Giants Won so same routine tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Everyday life of Shanghai
Exploring Shanghai has been an adventure so far. Learning their Metro system, our Bart, has been a struggle. People here do not follow the rules and pushing and shoving is normal. A couple times during rush hour, I literally had to bum rush my way out. I felt bad in the beginning but now I am getting used to it. Cars have the right of way here and red lights do not mean anything. There are bikes and mopeds everywhere and they also have the right of way. So if you decide to be nice and let everyone go, you will be standing there for the whole day.
I expected more from their food. I had oily food the whole time on my tour and was hoping to get away from it. The food here is just as oily and salty. If you are on a tight budget, you can definitely find cheap foods anywhere. I am still in search for a simple cobb salad. I think I need to head towards the western part of town. I did manage to find Subway sandwiches but their six inch cost just as much as our footlong. Even though it is the same sandwich, the veggies are not quite the same. Fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonalds are spreading like wildfire. We will see the popularity of obesity in this country in a couple years.
I expected more from their food. I had oily food the whole time on my tour and was hoping to get away from it. The food here is just as oily and salty. If you are on a tight budget, you can definitely find cheap foods anywhere. I am still in search for a simple cobb salad. I think I need to head towards the western part of town. I did manage to find Subway sandwiches but their six inch cost just as much as our footlong. Even though it is the same sandwich, the veggies are not quite the same. Fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonalds are spreading like wildfire. We will see the popularity of obesity in this country in a couple years.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Shanghai Expo 2010
I finally went to the Shanghai Expo today. I have been waiting and trying to find someone to go with me but no one wanted to go. They said I would find out why after I go there myself. I was afraid of the crowd and was hoping the rain scared some of them away but it did not stop them. Getting to the Expo was rather easy but it was a far walk.
When I got to the Expo, all I could see were people. People everywhere lining up to go into pavilions and bathrooms. My main purpose there was to take pictures and check out the exterior of the pavilions. I knew it was going to be a long wait for the ones I wanted to see. The USA pavilion alone was a three hours wait. Saudi Arabia and Japan were at least six hours, crazy.
Before the night-lights turned on, my camera died and I was forced to leave. It was good timing because my knees were about to give out again like The Great Wall. That means I have to go back at night or just be satisfied with what I have. I heard it is completely different at night so I knew one way or another I would be back.
When I got to the Expo, all I could see were people. People everywhere lining up to go into pavilions and bathrooms. My main purpose there was to take pictures and check out the exterior of the pavilions. I knew it was going to be a long wait for the ones I wanted to see. The USA pavilion alone was a three hours wait. Saudi Arabia and Japan were at least six hours, crazy.
Before the night-lights turned on, my camera died and I was forced to leave. It was good timing because my knees were about to give out again like The Great Wall. That means I have to go back at night or just be satisfied with what I have. I heard it is completely different at night so I knew one way or another I would be back.
Friday, October 22, 2010
United Nations Gala Event
My friend flies in from New York and invites me a United Nations Gala Event. FYI, I had no clue what kind of event this was going to be. Anyways, during the layover from Hong Kong, she sat next to ANDY LAU to Shanghai. For those that do not know, he is like the Michael Jackson of Hong Kong. He is one of the best performers and respected idol in Asia. He will perform at the closing ceremony for the Shanghai Expo.
Back to the UN event, I have never seen so many leaders and power in one room. The main table, which took up about 1/3 room, had 22 seats. The event was huge and held at a five star new hotel in Shanghai. This hotel was nicer than a lot of hotels in Vegas. Dinner was served and also a couple great performances by local artists.
When the event was over, we changed and went to club called Muse 2. It was jam packed with an event going on downstairs next to the ginormous Cartier store neat XinTianDi. A couple Hong Kong celebrities were there including ANDY LAU, Edison Chen, and Shawn Yue. Of course I did not see any of them but would have been cool to.
Back to the UN event, I have never seen so many leaders and power in one room. The main table, which took up about 1/3 room, had 22 seats. The event was huge and held at a five star new hotel in Shanghai. This hotel was nicer than a lot of hotels in Vegas. Dinner was served and also a couple great performances by local artists.
When the event was over, we changed and went to club called Muse 2. It was jam packed with an event going on downstairs next to the ginormous Cartier store neat XinTianDi. A couple Hong Kong celebrities were there including ANDY LAU, Edison Chen, and Shawn Yue. Of course I did not see any of them but would have been cool to.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Finale of Tour de China!
10-20-10
Made a pit stop to Shanghai last night and took a cruise of HuangPu River to see the night lights of the big city. My tour guide quoted a comment about Shanghai from Time magazine. It stated past, present, and future and it referenced it to Paris, New York, and Shanghai. I understand why now.
Our last destination was Hangzhou, three hours away from Shanghai. Our first stop was a tea garden where they showed us how their green tea was made. I tried their green tea leaf as a chip for the first time and it was not bad. I did not think much of this city and started to wonder why I came so far to see a tea garden. I should have stayed in Shanghai.
When we were driving to downtown for dinner, I realized why this city was so popular. I saw my first Rolls Royce dealership and alongside was Lambo, Porsche, Maserati, and Mercedes. Wowsers! Dinner was usual, but the mask/face changing show afterwards was dope.
And for the grand finale, we saw a show on water called Impression West Lake. They turned parts of the West Lake into a huge stage. I was not going to attend in the beginning but luckily the tour guide convinced me to go and it was totally worth it. The director also directed the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the music was by Kitaro. Everything about the show was absolutely amazing, from the cast, plot, music, and decoration. I would see it again in a heart beat.
It has been a long tour and it was coming to an end. I do not think I can take another ten days of traveling like this. I had so much fun touring China and it was definitely an eye opener. I will miss everybody on the tour and the history I learned about this great country. I take away something new every time I travel, even if it is a domestic trip. This was a humbling experience and I am realizing why China is going to be the next land of opportunities.
Made a pit stop to Shanghai last night and took a cruise of HuangPu River to see the night lights of the big city. My tour guide quoted a comment about Shanghai from Time magazine. It stated past, present, and future and it referenced it to Paris, New York, and Shanghai. I understand why now.
Our last destination was Hangzhou, three hours away from Shanghai. Our first stop was a tea garden where they showed us how their green tea was made. I tried their green tea leaf as a chip for the first time and it was not bad. I did not think much of this city and started to wonder why I came so far to see a tea garden. I should have stayed in Shanghai.
When we were driving to downtown for dinner, I realized why this city was so popular. I saw my first Rolls Royce dealership and alongside was Lambo, Porsche, Maserati, and Mercedes. Wowsers! Dinner was usual, but the mask/face changing show afterwards was dope.
And for the grand finale, we saw a show on water called Impression West Lake. They turned parts of the West Lake into a huge stage. I was not going to attend in the beginning but luckily the tour guide convinced me to go and it was totally worth it. The director also directed the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the music was by Kitaro. Everything about the show was absolutely amazing, from the cast, plot, music, and decoration. I would see it again in a heart beat.
It has been a long tour and it was coming to an end. I do not think I can take another ten days of traveling like this. I had so much fun touring China and it was definitely an eye opener. I will miss everybody on the tour and the history I learned about this great country. I take away something new every time I travel, even if it is a domestic trip. This was a humbling experience and I am realizing why China is going to be the next land of opportunities.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Beautiful Suzhou
We left WuXi for Suzhou today. The ride was about 90 minutes and we stopped by a pearl factory on the way. They sold everything from pearl jewelry, tea, to lotion. Pearl is like fine wine, the older it is the more expensive.
Then it was off to another garden and temple. There were so many other tours at the places we were at today. You can tell China is coming up fast as people are traveling from all over the world to visit. The Expo in Shanghai and the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 definitely helped their popularity and economy.
Suzhou is my favorite place so far as they have unique activities and the people are great. We went on a boat ride across a small river and the scene was beautiful. There were old houses on both sides with people still living in them. My thought was it would be great to live here but it turns out to be the complete opposite. Regardless, I enjoyed the ride and took many great pictures.
We ended the night visiting the most modern place in the city, the Suzhou Science and Culture Arts Center, also SSCAC. This place is 150,000 sq meters with performance halls, IMAX theaters, and a huge garden. I also found my first cup of “real” coffee from Dreyers here and I was so excited. My camera died as I was inside but managed to get a couple good shots.
As I am washing up, I noticed the bug bit has gotten worse and my ankle is the size of a baseball now. It is sore but I can still walk on it. Hopefully it will get better tomorrow or I will need some serious medicine to take the swelling down.
Then it was off to another garden and temple. There were so many other tours at the places we were at today. You can tell China is coming up fast as people are traveling from all over the world to visit. The Expo in Shanghai and the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 definitely helped their popularity and economy.
Suzhou is my favorite place so far as they have unique activities and the people are great. We went on a boat ride across a small river and the scene was beautiful. There were old houses on both sides with people still living in them. My thought was it would be great to live here but it turns out to be the complete opposite. Regardless, I enjoyed the ride and took many great pictures.
We ended the night visiting the most modern place in the city, the Suzhou Science and Culture Arts Center, also SSCAC. This place is 150,000 sq meters with performance halls, IMAX theaters, and a huge garden. I also found my first cup of “real” coffee from Dreyers here and I was so excited. My camera died as I was inside but managed to get a couple good shots.
As I am washing up, I noticed the bug bit has gotten worse and my ankle is the size of a baseball now. It is sore but I can still walk on it. Hopefully it will get better tomorrow or I will need some serious medicine to take the swelling down.
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