China

Cyprus Tree

Yucky st. food in Wang Fujing, Beijing!

A Catholic Church in Beijing

Beijing & Shanghai

Last July 24, 2004, we flew to Shanghai, China. I've been expecting the huge buildings and wide roads and when we got there, I was amazed at how improved the place was. Although people were not that tourist friendly- can not speak english, we managed to survived with a few Mandarin words at our hands and a bit of courage to speak them. There were lots of shopping malls that a whole street was closed to give way to people who are literally shopping till their feet ached. I think most of the tourist who went to Shanghai are into shopping. Good thing there is no tax for goods purchased in China. There is not much to see. You can go around by yourself, armed with an ever dependable map, you can visit the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, The Oriental Pearl Tower- 4th largest tower in the world, The Bund- a must for tourist, Nanjing Rd., Huangpi rd., Central Huaihai and Xiangyang- all are shopping haven, Hengshan Rd.- area full of bars, Xintiandi Rd.- Eastwood City like avenue for locals and tourist to wine and dine. The food was not that great, although if you are a person who is into spicy stuff then you found a place where you belong. No service charge and no tipping is required. We were lucky, we came during China's end of summer time (July) and left at the beginning of their autumn/ winter (September), we experienced both weather.

August 6-10, 2004, we flew for an hour and a half to Beijing. The place was nice but a bit rural compared to Shanghai. The toilet sucks. We went with Spring International Travel Service Ltd. They toured us at the Tian an men Square, where we were able to see the preserved body of Mao Tse Tung ( you have to wait in line for at least an hour to get a side glimpse) , Wang Fujing- a version of Xiangyang market in Shanghai, The Great Wall of China- one of the 8th wonders of the world, it has a new attraction, you can get into a cable car or a roller ride to go up the walls, our guide opted for the later. The Summer Palace- the vacation spot of the emperor, The Forbidden City- where the emperor was secluded to the outside world, The Temple of Heaven- where the emperor prayed and gave offerings are just some of the scenic spots. There are other gardens I cannot recall.

We were literally glad to go back to Shanghai after 5 days on tour. We felt like we were back to civilization. But all in all, we had a blast- a little of history and a lot of shopping!

Wax Museum, Beijing