Tokyo Day 1

I arrived just after lunch, and after a short bus ride I met up with my travel companions for the week, whom informed me that we were headed to the amusement park. Straight off the airplane and straight onto the roller coaster! The ride we took was a lot of fun and had a massive drop. I hope to transition from more of my future flights this way!

My travel companions are: Anthony, my best bud in Asia. He was the first person I met in Nanjing three years ago (he’d actually interviewed me for the job there as well) and we’ve been close ever since. We’ve traveled to Hong Kong and South Korea together prior to Japan.

Companions two is Simon, twelve years old. Simon is the youngest son of Anthony’s employer, a Swedish family living in Hong Kong. Anthony works exclusively as their personal chef, but Anthony has such a warm and caring personality that he has really become part of the family. The family keeps such a busy schedule between work and different travel arrangements around the world (they are in New York right now) that they occasionally ask Anthony to take family members on travel experiences. Having Simon along on this trip will be fun and entertaining on a different level, something I can appreciate more knowing that my brother will have those experiences as a father down the line. Traveling with a kid provides all kinds of youthful, innocent experiences like questions posed such as: “If you could choose between a house boat or a house on land, and all the food is taken care of, which would you choose?”

Speaking of food, we had a nice, traditional Japanese meal for dinner. The restaurant requires guests to take off shoes, and the tables are kind of sunken into the floor, so you literally step down to your table. This is because of their culture of service here, so the waiter/waitress who attends your table can kneel on the floor next to you. The service here is definitely at an entirely different level!

We also walked through a main electronics street mall at night, and that provided some interesting photos.

 

Continue to Day 2 in Tokyo here.

Moments in China

Just wanted to share a few interesting sightings from my continued adventure in China this week.

1) This is perhaps one of the saddest signs I've ever seen:

It was posted inside a subway station, which is normally not a quiet place as it is, anyway...

2) The street names here can be rather poetic with names such as "Sleeping Dragon Highway" and "Beauty Water Street". A new favorite that I just discovered the other day is: 天钥桥路 which translates literally to: "Sky Key Bridge Road," though I think it could be translated with more literary flare to be: "The Key to Heaven Bridge." Now a street name like that makes the morning commute feel a bit different, doesn't it?

Swanky New Penthouse

OK, that title might be a bit deceiving. I moved into a nice apartment, but it is far from swanky, and is definitely not a penthouse. It is, however, comfortable, affordable, has more storage space than I know what to do with, and features a couch with a pull-out mattress for guests! Have a look at the pictures and let me know when you'll be visiting--I am taking reservations for couch space now!

The apartment is about 600 square feet, which can be summed up in about 6 pictures:

1) Here is my best attempt at making my bed. More important: the killer sliding closet doors. I kept them closed for the viewers' safety, because this closet is armed to the teeth with nifty closet organizers and space savers! I think I have more places to hang my hangers than I have actual hangers!

2) The other half of my bedroom:

3) A partial view of the bathroom and the transparent shower doors:

4) Here is where the "food magic" takes place:

5) My couch space / home office and workout center:

6) The entertainment center. I have yet to turn on the Smart TV, preferring for the books on the right instead!

My neighborhood is one of the trendiest areas of Shanghai and is full of expats. I am lucky to have lots of nice international restaurants and supermarkets within walking distance. There is also a gym down the street with reasonable prices, and since my apartment is on the 6th floor with no elevator, I get some exercise every day anyway!

If living abroad has taught me anything, it's that travel is best shared with family and friends, so I hope these photos will entice some of you to come visit!

Shanghai Easter

Some cute, artistic Easter displays around town. The message of this holiday in China seems to be pretty clear: go shopping!!

New Beginnings

April 8, 2014

Just over 27 years ago, I entered the world and was followed up by my twin brother, Ryan. Now, 27 years later, this day marks some pivotal new beginnings. At 9:48pm, Rocky Mountain Time, Ryan and his lovely wife, Jill, welcomed into the world their own little girl, Rylee.

That very same day (Beijing time zone) marked my own beginning in that I received the official, approved documents and starter kit for my new business, freshly registered in Hong Kong. The starter kit came with an official company stamp, seal, and several copies of the paper work, packed away in a very legal looking box. 

Just look at the size of this kit compared to some of my heavy reading materials!

My package was delivered by a mail man on a scooter bike; my brother’s and his wife’s package came by way of stork delivery, and while the deliveries weigh about the same 6 pounds, 9 ounces), the Rylee package is entirely more adorable!!

Congrats to Ryan and Jill, and welcome baby Rylee!

Disney Land Hong Kong

My family and I were lucky enough to visit Disney Land and Disney World in the US, so I decided to try and relive some of the magic at Disney Land Hong Kong. There was certainly no shortage of magic, and all of my favorite Disney movie memories came back to me, like Tarzan swinging through the jungle of my mind. 

Still the experience was not quite the same. Beyond the obvious differences—my age, being without family on this trip, the Disney characters speaking in Cantonese—I noted a few other interesting differences for the destination being localized to China. The snack selection at the food carts can perhaps give readers a taste of this point:

Thinking back to my childhood trips, I remember the family coverage scheme that mom and dad had to run at Disney: since my folks had to manage three of us who were tall enough for the more adventurous rides, dad took us off to those, while mom had lil’ sis duty for the more gentle rides. (sorry you both missed out on the roller coasters!) This was not as significant a factor in Hong Kong, because I noticed most families (at least the large amount of those visiting from mainland China) have only one child, so the younger children’s rides had long lines, but the rides I sought out did not have a large presence of the older sibling demographic. These lines had young couples or young professionals on holidays, mostly. So I made it through most of the rides I was interested in without too much of a wait time, and the rides were definitely worth it!

Christmas in Shanghai

2013 marks my second year celebrating Christmas in China. The first was spent in Nanjing, a city of 8 million. This year, I am in Shanghai with around 26 million inhabitants. Shanghai is a very international city, which means I enjoyed a very eclectic, and international holiday season. My Christmas dinner, for example, was at a property owned by the Presidential Roosevelt Family, and featured Scotland smoked salmon, French blue lobster, Icelandic halibut, Australian beef, and more. Believe me, this was a delicious feast!