Oh Shanghai

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I managed to update my blog. Been out of the country in April. I actually tried to blog from there but apparently China prohibits anyone from entering blogspot from there. So here was what was supposed to be blogged the last time.

It's good to be back! Missed y'all!

Hi from 39000 feet in the sky

Yup. That’s right. I am writing to you from 39000 feet as I cross the South China Sea for the third time this month.

Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I wrote here. Work has been keeping me busy and honestly, every time I think about making an entry here, some other work thing manages to swarm and flood the cavities of my mind and wash the thought away. And I end up forgetting about it up until the next time it pops up.

Yes I’ve been away for a while. I haven’t been on air basically because I haven’t been in town. Day job’s been keeping me busy in a place which I recently discovered to be a mega-city called Shanghai.

It’s been a long trip. So long, that I actually had to celebrate my birthday here and miss out on my sister’s and Amy’s in KL. And it’s not even over yet. Yessirree, I am typing this from 39000 feet above the city of Hong Kong, and heading NORTH! For the second time this month, I’ll be stepping on the grounds of Mainland China. To be exact, the crazy city of Shanghai.

In what was originally a business trip which I went with much hesitance and reluctance (I thought Shanghai was more of an old school china kinda town), the realization of the sheer magnitude of this city, with the millions of its inhabitants buzzing around in what is seemingly a very foreign lifestyle for me, has brought me to the realization that there is so much more that I haven’t seen in this world. And for our lifetime, more often than not, we will never get to see everything anyway. So I guess we’ll just have to enjoy whatever comes our way. One by one. From one portion of the earth’s surface to the other. Embracing each of them through all our senses so that the memory will remain with us forever.

Here are some shots from over a thousand that I took while in this enormous city, with a population close to that of our country. Enjoy:

So I finally got myself the telephoto lens for my G10. That pretty much burned more spirit for me to go out and take more shots. Seems like the cease of my mission to actually discover the full potential of this camera is still further away with my new tele-lens. In fact, I’m actually considering to get the flash as well.

Anyway, aside from the camera, there’re lots to say about Shanghai. I’m not gonna go through every detail but here’s my personal top 10 to-do items when in Shanghai. If you don’t manage to do at least half of these, you haven’t seen Shanghai:

1.    Take the MAGLEV train to and from the airport to downtown. Speed of up to 461 km/h

2.    Walk along the Bund and Pudong riverside

3.    Go up Jinmao Tower or Shanghai World Financial Tower (Highest observation point in the world to date on the 100^th floor. Best part, the floor is made out of glass and you can see below. There goes the “don’t look down” part).

4.    Shop at either the Yu Yuan Gardens, 580 mall on Nanjing, Science Museum underground bazaar or the underground bazaar on Nanjing road. Good stuff here (especially if you’re looking for too good to be “not real” items)

5.    Have a late-night drink on top of the Shangri-La Pudong

6.    Visit Xintiandi district

7.    Take a evening and night walk on Nanjing road.

8.    Take a taxi ride on one of the many multi layered elevated highways in downtown – don’t be surprised to find 5 different highway levels at one time. You can even drive from downtown to the airport without touching the ground level.

9.    Take a taxi ride to anywhere to experience how people drive here.

10.  Have a hand-made noodle soup or Shanghai hairy crabs – whichever is easier to find.

Do any three of these, and consider yourself to have truly visited Shanghai. J

On another note, I just finished watching The Blind Side on this flight, and I find this movie truly amazing. Considering it’s a true story, I would have never imagined that such kindness exists among the richer Americans living in a more “red-neck” part of the country. (I’m not talk more about the plot in case you haven’t seen it for yourself).

And for Sandra’s Bullock’s character, oh wow. That is my definition of the perfect wife. Perfection, in my opinion, from every possible aspect. That person exists, and to whom that she belongs, truly that man is beyond lucky. J What a beautiful person….

Anyways, I’m still gonna be away for a while. Will be in and out of the country and more importantly and unfortunately, off-air for a while longer. I miss you guys. I miss KL. I miss my family. I miss Amy. All this missing is making me depressed. And when I’m depressed I eat. And now I am FATTER!!!

But I’ll keep that for another entry. Stay real. Adios!!