My first ever photo taken in Asia. This is from the window of the house we are staying in while we look for an apartment. Morning, August 15th, 2010. (2010 年8 月15 日早上.) Shanghai, or environs! (上海.)
More of the same.
The balcony outside our room, on the opposite side of the house from the creek.
The resident fisherman of san zhao bang (Three Oven Creek).
Sandor looking much cooler than we felt, walking along the edge of Century Park.
In the courtyard of one of the apartment complexes we visited while hunting for accommodation. This one is near Long Yang Road, where the famous mag lev starts (ends?), August 15th, afternoon.
Me *not* looking so cool.
The high-tech view from another apartment we visited, in Zhang Jiang High Tech Park (near my job).
Jenny, a girl on the bus who wanted to be able to practise her English. She did so, while I got her help with bus routes.
The apartment complex in Zhang Jiang Park, revisited on Monday; we wanted to do a shakedown walk from "home" to "work." 20 minutes (but we had to backtrack twice).
In Zhang Jiang High Tech Park (the lower-tech section).
Monday, August 16th, 2010.
Abrupt change of scene: we hopped a subway and this is Nanjing Dong Lu.
Looking east along Nanjing Dong Lu -- East Nanjing Road, famous shopping mecca. We weren't shopping, but I like places with no cars!
Well, no normal cars.
Anyone want to volunteer a caption?
Another abrupt change of scene, but this time a few blocks from the previous shot.
A, la tentazione!
Sandor took this picture, but in general it's hard to tell who took what (unless one of us is in the photo). We were switching back and forth too much. (Get your own Canon G-10, Sandor!) ;-)
The 580-ml bottle of Suntory (beer) that cost 3.5 Yuan, about 55 cents. Yes, we want it opened on the spot, please.
Looking east toward the space-age buildings in Pudong.
I took a less-obstructed view of this building (see next frame), then caught myself starting to delete this one, which I've now decided I rather like.
Shanghai old town. Nice buildings, but lots of tourists, lots of people pressing us to buy things (they have pictures so as to to avoid hearing my fractured Mandarin) and lots and lots of people who don't understand "no" in any language!
I thought Sandor might like a really "Asian" picture of himself. :-)
Yu Yuan Garden (help, someone, doesn't this just mean Yu Garden Garden?) . . . we didn't go in, but it's allegedly a great place to beat the heat. Have I mentioned the heat?
Gold fish in the canals (although there's probably a more accurate name) in the old town.
Sandor was pointing at the gargoyles. But I also love the juxtaposition of old and new.
Great roof, though, gotta say!
Okay, my postcards are better than these shots, but I had to take them!
Sandor pointed out yet another incredibly overloaded bicycle (really a tricycle, but who's counting).
Me with either the pearl tower or Jin mao tower, I don't have my guide book in front of me and we haven't actually made it to the edge of the river yet -- either edge. (We crossed the river by metro.) That will have to wait for another packed day! Or two.
Sandor in the courtyard of our host, Tuesday morning, August 17th. Looking back at nearly all these pictures, they look very ordinary. Am I just taking bad photos or are we completely blase about the whole Asian experience after three and a half days here?!
On the balcony of our "penthouse," August 17th. Photo courtesy of Hanson Sun. (I'd left my camera in the car, 12 floors down.) We haven't signed the contract yet but it will almost certainly be our place.
Hanson took some interior shots, too. It is interesting how many changes we have already made as I write this on August 25th. There is only one armchair in the master bedroom, and the sculpture stand has become my bedside stand. The bed is now opposite the window.
The living room remains much the same (more's the pity) although obviously being TV-averse we've bunged that into the guest bedroom. The table is now closer to the window to catch the exquisite breezes here. We haven't had the A/C on since the day this was taken. With temperatures regularly reaching the high 30s (C) that may sound like madness, but we haven't been able to bear to close the windows and lose the breeze. Oh, by the way, we pleaded with the landlady to lose the fake flowers. This bunch is gone.
Compare this with the shots from the last couple of days, with our stove, our "wok," and all the basic ingredients -- soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil!
San Zao (not zhao as previously written) creek from our window, August 18th.
老外，三灶滨
On the fabulous bus ride (which we've now taken at least three times) from our temporary home in San Zao Bang to the Jin Ke subway station. The bus goes over many a narrow bridge, along creeks, by forests and ponds, over fields and highways.
Another shot from the bus.
Platanus occidentalis, I believe, although this was not an occidental occasion. >:-} American sycamore. We haven't yet figured out the Chinese name.
We're not sure what this giant delete-key keytop is meant to delete, on our walk from IBM (environs) to our new apartment on Fang Hua Lu.
One of the greener parts of the same walk, which took about 45 minutes.
Me suffering from heat prostration, in the courtyard of our new apartment. As I write, we're still staying in San Zao Bang, but we've signed the contract and will move into the apartment any day now! (We have a key.)
Recovered, as I thought -- although I felt decidedly ill when I got back to the maglev station a bit later. Still on foot. How many miles did we crazy wai guo ren walk in the heat of midday?
Sandor took all these fine photos in the courtyard of our apartment on Fang Hua Road.
芳华路.
Fang Hua Lu proper. Sandor gets very irate when he sees things like the wheel cut off -- I'm not a *careful* photographer. Cute trike though, huh? :-)
He, on the other hand, has total artistic license.
We must be shang hai ren -- we smile when the rain starts. It was actually pouring, although you can't tell here.
Judging by the peculiar expression on my face, I'm talking to a Chinese primary-schooler. We say "hello" and they say "hello" and so it goes. They started it, but now I'm addicted. I always add a few words in Chinese for the benefit of their parents, of course. I mean, so they won't think I'm JUST a tourist.
The sun rose clear and blue on the 19th and I did a repeat of my first two photos!
From the balcony of the house in San Zao Bang.
From the same balcony.
The lane off San Zao Road where we've been staying.
The following bunch are all photos I took walking west on San Zao Lu on the sunny morning of August 19th.
Sandor was fascinated by this particular crepe business, all conducted atop a tricycle.
The picture is better without Sandor's back in it (see next frame), but I like this one too, somehow.
Sandor took this one. Very nice.
Jenny and Bob, friends of our host, who flew in for a day on their way to their wedding. They kindly included us in their sightseeing trip downtown, and we found ourselves in the unlikely position of showing Chinese natives around the Shanghai bus and subway systems!
People's Park.
I found myself . . .
somewhat mesmerized . . .
Jenny and Bryn, pearl tower in background.
Jenny's trademark smile, most often elicited by my fractured Mandarin. We were eating at a place called Nan Xiang steamed bun restaurant, but not the famous one in the Yu Yuan garden.
What's the deal with these little kids posing with the Expo mascot? And what's with the mascot in the first place? I find it hideous.
We walked to Nanjing Dong Lu, our old stomping ground. ;-)
Now the album cover, and also my desktop wallpaper -- makes it impossible to read any of my icons, but looks awesome.
Jenny bought this flying bird for one of her young relatives.
After 5 days of being stared at everywhere she goes . . .
. . . Bryn has not yet tired of it, apparently.
Building in Nanjing Dong Lu, August 19th, 2010.
Another ramble around the San Zao Bang area, August 20th.
Wait a minute, this wasn't a ramble -- we were actually taking one of our long on-foot excursions to the shopping district of Sun Qiao Road. Rice here, we think (behind the initial shrubbery).
Our balcony as before but on a much clearer day! That's the maglev station near the centre of the shot.
August 21st in our apartment, when we went to sign the contract. Eason Chen, the property agent, Hanson, and our landlady whose name I haven't yet parsed yet. I call her Da Jie 大姐, big older sister.
We liked so many things about our apartment, but it was the faux panther couch that really sold us. :-) (Although it looks more like faux cow here.)
Hanson on our balcony.
A more straight-on view off the balcony. North.
Looking northeast with the maglev track in the foreground (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train). Cool twisty highways, huh?
Looking down from the balcony at our creek and the beginnings of the large rural tract immediately north of us.
Our first night in our new home, August 21st, 2010.
Shanghai World Financial Centre dominating the scene to the northwest. The Pearl Tower is partly hidden behind it.
I believe this was taken on a bus on the same evening, although where we were going I no longer remember.
. . . by the sycamores.
Sunday evening, August 22nd, Shanghai. 中国上海2010年8月22日星期天晚上.
Our new frying pan, henceforth referred to as the "wok," and our new propane stove. Propane! Just like old times. August 23rd.
Sandor taking the vile construction tape off the windows on August 23rd as I'm assembling the ingredients of the first real meal we've cooked in our new apartment.
As before.
The fabulous view from the kitchen, henceforth known as the galley. (Not really.)
Hot sauce, various sauces and cooking wine in bags (mm hmm) and the tall bottle is as yet unidentified, although it seems to me to say "he jiu," some kind of wine. Help anyone? i don't have a stroke dictionary. Harmonious wine? Knowing what you're buying when you go to the store is highly overrated.
Walking up Fang Hua Lu toward the subway as we start a new day of administrative tasks in Puxi. (Pudong is our side of the river -- east of the Pu -- stop me if you know this. Puxi is the west side of the Pu. Short for Huangpu.)
Okay to take your picture? ("我照相你吗?" is how I put it.) "No problem!"
I do try to edit my collection, but I liked all three rice-sack-hauling shots for different reasons.
Nel Metro. Senza dubito, quest' era un ad per la pavilione italiana all'Expo.
Far from home in the wilds of Puxi, or at any rate Zhong Shan Gong Yuan station (I think). In my Calgary sandals, my Nova Scotia pewter earrings, and my Canada's-favourite-newspaper t-shirt.
For the first time, we went inside a "UBC Coffee" for a real splurge. (Devastating to the pocketbook, our lunch cost 93 yuan, about $15.00 for the two of us. I'm not sure how meaningful it is to convert to dollars, but at first we did it a lot because we had no other reference point. We're doing it less now and when I start earning money we will have a much better idea of what we should spend. I was supposed to start work on the 23rd but it is now looking like some time next week.)
Chrysanthemum tea 菊花茶and seaweed peanut 海澡花生. I didn't enjoy the tea that much. I ordered it hoping I would see it "blossom" the way the China travel videos show. :-) But if it blossomed, it was upstream of getting to the table.
After a great deal of hua cha, seaweed peanut, and a bunch of other stuff I can't even remember although this was yesterday! When we got back home much, much later, we were wiped. Too much schlepping around, struggling with Chinese, and crisscrossing the city by foot, bus and subway (although as to the latter we'd better get used to it. Well we'd better get used to all of the above)!
Just outside UBC Coffee. I should add that it's a chain; we've seen them everywhere.
Same spot, looking upward.
The clearest shot I could get of this creature I spotted when walking out of the Zhong Shan Gong Yuan subway station.
I was trying to capture the sheer breadth of this intersection.
Same intersection, a few more cars . . . I get it can get pretty chaotic here.
Sandor took this picture; can you tell?
The moon from our living room window. More my style! August 24th, 2010.
Next time maybe I'll turn out the light in the kitchen and just enjoy the lights of Shanghai out the window.
Our apartment has lurid lighting, one completely filthy kitchen wall (behind me -- you can't see it here), no real shower curtain, and beds harder than most rocks; and to say that some of the furniture is hideous would be a gross understatement. We love it!!
August 24th. I was wondering about the discrepancy but that's right, we marinated the beef on Sunday night, and ate it last night. Tsingtao beer, much better than the plonk we've been drinking on the street!
Morning of August 22nd.
We are finally going to get down to the waterfront on August 26th. This is Lujiazui where the big space-age buildings are. Sandor admires the giant overpass from the subway station to (among other things) Super Brand Mall.
My first (and maybe best) shot of the famous Pearl Tower. Not counting the faroff shots from our balcony, of course!
The better of two attempts by Sandor to catch me with the Pearl Tower. My turn to point out that he's missed the top of the tower *and* put me in the dark!
Uh . . .flags.
Normal traffic in the Century Avenue circle.
Super Brand Madhouse? Maelstrom? Ah, Mall, that's it. Unaccountably, since everything we've seen opens very early, it opens at 10. People were swarming at 9:44.
Elephant at Super Brand Mall.
An amazing hotpot Sandor ordered at Noodle Plus in the mall. (I had a seafood extravaganza that turned out to be a wester-tasting melted-cheese affair.)
We wandered over to the Huangpu river. As I have pointed out on numerous occasions, we hadn't actually stood on either waterfront before. This is the west side taken from "our" side, the east side. I was quite surprised to see this massive cruise ship, although I knew in theory that the river is navigable by large oceangoing boats.
East side of the Pu in the foreground, the Bund (外滩 or wai tan) in the background. Its Chinese name means Foreign Beach, as far as I can tell. The foreign settlements in Shanghai's heyday were nearby.
My turn to put Sandor in the dark. It was a sultry day, but I don`t remember it being quite this dark.
Whatever these are, they're ubiquitous. [Aha! Lagerstroemia, common name Crape Myrtle. Thanks to my cousin, Becky Rizvi, for I.D. Wikipedia adds: "The Common Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) from China and Korea, was introduced circa 1790 to Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States by the French botanist Andre Michaux."]
Looking back at the Lujiazui buildings from the waterfront park. I`m not being consistent with syllabification. Usually I spell each Chinese syllable separately (lu jia zui) but I guess since Lujiazui is the name of a street and are, I jam it together.
Sandor took this photo (of a bug on his own hand -- pretty dextrous). Contrary to expectation, we've seen no insect larger than this (alive), and no noxious insects. I did feel one mosquito last night and Sandor found a gigantic cicada carapace near Century Park.
Having fun with Aperture Priority after a brief lesson from the serious photographer. Evening, August 27th.
I still like the original . . .
My first views of the main Shanghai Public Library. We were disappointed that we need to pay a 1,000 yuan deposit (which we don't have sous la main) to get English books, and although I'd settle for Chinese children's books, they're in another library . . .
. . . Still, we're pleased that after all the warnings from friends, there is a functioning library, apparently with several regional branches. This main library would be a great place to come to on Saturdays anyway, we think.
Sandor dominating the scene, with some weird Rodinesque sculpture behind him. (Turned out to be The smaller thinker, or The thinker mach 2, or something. Well, naturally.)
The fine gardens in the back of the library. It's not clear that these are public, since we had to cajole our way past the guards, and no-one else seems to be using them.
Uh . . .Confucius?
Sandor with . . .uh . . .Chinese characters.
We found a very nice park which I think is called Shanghai Star park. I had a brief nap. By this point we were pretty sure we would walk all the way to the Bund -- same side of the river, about 5 km away.
Same park, same rock. Plus Sandor.
The gazebo you saw at the end of the colonnade of sycamores.
I guess the "scholarly name" is Mahonia bealei, but most of this is lost on me.
Croton! Seen at home in pots only, here gracing many a dooryard. Well, if they had dooryards here.
For once, I fit into the landscape! (Just think if one of those buses could fit on this path, even better.)
Huaihai Lu; formerly Avenue Joffre. I didn't know this walk would be largely in the French Concession; we kind of pieced that together.
That poor sycamore! As if it needed help peeling its bark. But the red lanterns are nice. We'd like to see this place at night. But it would behoove us to leave our money at home, methinks.
One English trademark after another . . .and tons of cars. Still, because of the plethora of gong yuan (parks) on this route, we could gladly walk this way from the library every Saturday.
The fetching facades of the French Concession.
We feel that we're right in the middle of Shanghai, actually -- but it's always nice to be welcomed. (Shouldn't that say 欢迎光临?)
Hong Kong New World Tower, one of the world's tallest occupied buildings.
Various species living in perfect harmony, until some Chinese kid comes and throws pieces of her man tou into the mix.
Feeding frenzy in Shanghai Civilized Park.
Sandor trying to get the kids to say Hello. (I had just finished trying to ask them how you say turtle in Mandarin. I asked in both Mandarin and English, but to no avail.)
I no longer remember what prompted me to take this photo.
Nor what Sandor is doing in this picture. Polka maybe?
Still in Civilized Park, which looks aptly named.
Looking back to where the kids were feeding the fishes, turtle, and ducks.
A wedding couple hamming it up for the other photographers.
The Bund! Just like in Empire of the Sun, right? About five minutes before this photo was taken, we had been in Shanghai for exactly two weeks, but that fact was not remarked upon at the time.
A closeup of one of the buildings on the Bund. Alas, I can identify none of them at the moment, not having done my research.
Uh oh, even I think this one needs cropping! (Afterthought: well, maybe not; the cropped version missed the reflections. I so hate to lose anything . . .)
Another closeup.
This time I did my reading, and this is a financial bull by the same Italian sculptor, Arturo di Modica, who created the Wall Street Bull.
Detail of the finely-formed tail . . .
. . . and other nether regions.
We actually planned to make our first visit to the Bund on a Friday, but somehow we missed a day and woke to find with much consternation that it was already Saturday! (Not a glitch in our new phones as I first thought.)
Anyway, it was crowded, really crowded. This shot would have been better before the cars hid most of the wall of pedestrians waiting to cross. (I missed it.) They're at the eastern end of the pedestrian-only portion of East Nanjing Road.
As before. I can't identify many of these buildings apart from their displayed names, but the one with the big hole is the Shanghai World Financial Centre, also visible from our balcony.
. . . after Sandor made me crop it. Any votes?
Three ubiquitous features of the landscape: marching military police, white buses with green trim, and the sycamore. Actually we see few of these marches around our place, but now we seem to be in the French Concession.
The typical scooter, the atypical riders. Notice the Starbucks in the background.
Saturday, August 28th, 2010.
浦东新区 -- Pudong New Area -- from the Bund. Plus one bateau gigantique, as we still say from our days on the Fleuve St.-Laurent.
On the last day of August, I catch a few minutes of early golden light. An amazing shot of two cyclists actually sticking to the right side . . . crossing our "local" bridge (which we've never been across).
Looking more or less due north from the balcony.
Same. Nice clouds, and some as-yet-unidentified buildings.
Walking to the bus stop this morning for another administrative visit to IBM (i.e. I haven't started to work yet). This is the shady part of the walk after 5 or 10 minutes in the white-hot heat.
Turtles enjoying the sunshine more than I am, in another shadeless spot, just outside the IBM building.
And more turtles! (There seem to be a lot more in Shanghai than in Toronto.)
This subway car seems very long, but it's just that most subway cars are open at each end and you can see the whole train at once.
Sunset series, August 31st, 2010. I got tired of trying to organize these and reject some, so there are still 8 at the moment.
I had not previously noticed that you can observe the curvature of the earth from our balcony.
This is getting almost too up-to-date . . .should I stop?
"Weird" tall ship seen from ferry.
This is a favourite, with the light on the western side of the large building. The more central building is showing some kind of light show as it often does (here, some purple dots, sometimes phone numbers and Chinese characters) -- I have yet to get a really good photo or movie of this.
We went in search of new areas of town to explore. Here I am on the north side of the Huangpu (yes, really the west side), heading for the ferry to Pudong, a.k.a the east side (here, more like the south side). This all reminds me a bit of Halifax where . . . but I think I'll save that story. Ask me if you're curious.
What Sandor calls "the parentheses," seen from the ferry.
Sandor with a very large bell of some sort near the waterfront promenade, mere moments before the place was swarmed with tourists.
My favourite picture of the World Financial Centre, inter alia. I was inspired by a remark of Sandor's on the straightness of the air gap between it and the building on its left.
This was meant to be a picture of the staff slumped over the tables enjoying their afternoon break . . .
Rolls Royce in the foreground, Oriental Pearl Tower in the background.
OPT seen through the gate of Dong Yuan Lu # 36.
We're thinking of going up on Saturday -- everyone know what's special about Saturday? Of course you do. :-)
The last of the sunlight on Shanghai for August 2010.
The first crowded bus shot; I intend to take a few more. September 1st, 2010, just before 8:00 a.m.
Lujiazui financial district. On the left, an unidentified bank building, the World Financial Center behind it, and the Jinmao tower just a bit beyond.
Somebody remind me to I.D. these places when I take photos, please?
A new favourite. Makes a stunning desktop background, if I do say so. Walking down a quiet-ish road, if I remember properly, in Lujiazui.
Both the World Financial Center and the Jinmao tower offer visitors the chance to go to the top (for a hefty fee), but I don't think you can eat at the top, so we favour the Oriental Pearl Tower. :-)
Sandor on the premises of the Shanghai World Financial Center. 上海环球金融中心.
JInmao tower from below, SWFC looking quite small for once next door.
Inside Jinmao tower. I had just been running down the up escalator. Sandor took a shot of that too (*non*-blurry for some reason) but I like this one better. The authorities were not amused.
Sandor took this one too.
I cut open a lime to add to my ginger lime chili sesame oil dipping sauce and -- it was an orange!
It didn't taste *exactly* like a North American orange -- but it tasted more like one than the local bananas taste like western hemisphere bananas or ditto the local watermelons.
Trying to open the door against the winds generated by Typhoon Kompasu as it passed a few hundred km from here on September 2nd. (The door is generally open when we're home, and the doorway is a wonderful spot to stand in.)
This was an attempt to capture the brilliant orange light we always get outside our bedroom in a good thunderstorm. But I guess orange is elusive (except when you're looking for lime).
Century Park, in the vicinity of which we originally thought we'd be living. We aren't, although it's within walking distance. Here we have finally decided to walk through the park. September 2nd, 2010.
Century Park is the largest park in Shanghai. Plenty of scope for more trips -- this time we walked across it bent on an urgent administrative task as seems to be the case much too often!
I found these creatures a bit spooky, myself, but they were certainly arresting.
And apparently talented.
Probably my first unpeopled view of a sycamore colonnade.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Sept. 3rd, 2010.
Some official-looking building on the museum grounds. We weren't there for the museum; the Public Security Bureau (where our current headache resides) is nearby.
More museum grounds.
Good thing I can read some Chinese or I wouldn't have a *clue* what this menu meant! I like "Fried beef and food" best, but they all make me smile.
It's my birthday -- September 4th -- and I've handed the camera to Sandor for the day, mainly to take pictures of me, of course. My first request was a repeat of last year's "hair" series.
Compare http://picasaweb.google.ca/brynharr/spartinabigcruise#5379633458316444978. At that time I was threatening to cut my hair. I'm still getting around to it. :-)
I was actually quite happy, anticipating the first Korean Barbecue since Toronto (but in 2009, not this year). Unless you count my attempts on the boat, which are not quite the same.
Another request: a portrait like my all-time favourite, the one of me sitting in Gusty looking up at Spartina (link omitted, but the portrait has made the rounds a lot of places).
I requested this one too!
In a mall in Hongkou District. We were hoping to find a birthday present for me, but we're really not that good at shopping.
Bryn Says Hi on the sunny streets of Hongkou. For once Sandor can't fault me for waving to the camera.
Hongkou is an amazing mixture of upscale and the reverse.
One of the streets off Hongzhen Laojie Street, where apparently everything is a market. Mind you it is Saturday, it may not be like this everyday.
Mm hmm.
We see these speckled eggs everywhere. I have no interest in buying them on the street, though, since my first bout of digestive confusion occurred almost immediately after biting into a rotten egg (in someone's home).
Heping park (probably "harmony peace park"). We knew nothing about it, were just looking for somewhere cool to spend part of the afternoon.
Sandor thought the drop of water looked fake.
I thought this geisha looked fake.
Outside the non-functioning teahouse, with the functioning teahouse in the background.
Part of an ensemble in the park, which had a number of musical groups performing or practising.
Taken from the restaurant at the top of the new Ocean Hotel in Hongkou. In almost every direction the high-rise apartment buildings sprawl into the distance.
Beef, chestnut, and snow pear.
I ordered a crocodile and fritillary soup because it sounded exotic yet not too bad. But it was pretty bad -- I was choking it down. All in all, an okay restaurant, not one I'd recommend. The staff was polite to the point of harassment (may I take this empty plate? And that empty plate? And that one there?)
A very large cruise ship, maybe the one we've seen docked for a week or so, now being towed out of the Huangpu backwards.
I "borrowed" the camera for a few abstracty shots. Looking along Daming Dong Lu.
The camera is back in Sandor's hands for the rest of the evening.
Nice shot!
Looking up at the restaurant we've just left.
Shanghai must be a pretty monstrous blot on those "earth from space at night" pictures.
Mm Hmm, or have I used that one already?
Sandor decided to take a snap of this so I could study the characters at my leisure, but it's a struggle when they're scripty. I'm in the picture too, although we don't expect that to be easily detected.
Finally seeing The Bund at night. We didn't stay many minutes after he took this, though -- exhausted at eight! And that's all for birthday 2010, folks!
A few of the 60 100-yuan notes we had to pay our landlady. These are worth about $15 each in Canadian dollars -- and yet they're the largest bill you can get in Chinese currency! Crazy. A 500-yuan note is being developed.
Abstract installations in Zhong Shan Gong Yuan. We've been to the subway station many times, and we decided to go to the actual park. Mostly, in my case, to lie down -- I hadn't felt well since the croc soup.
Sandor had the camera while I was lying down. He took the next few. There is a fine movie of these guys playing, but we don't have YouTube access.
This is Monday, September 6th, by the way.
I was up now and the camera was in my hands.
. . . but I've taken better pictures of waterlilies on the Magnetawan in Ontario. >:-}
I think Sandor took this one. A common pastime in China, practising calligraphy using water.
Sandor took this one too! I didn't think it would look like much, but it just shows how wrong a person can be. Name the subject?
The next day near Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. A lot of times when we seem to be roaming to different parts of the city we're really chasing some piece of paper or other. The Public Security Bureau is near the museum subway stop.
Part of the imposing grounds of the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum -- that's a mouthful, can I just say 上海科技馆?
上海科技馆, proper.
Kite sellers in the square at the SSTM.
Remarkable homemade "insects" in the same square.
Sandor and I reflected in the museum windows.
Early morning of September 9th, our street seen from our apartment.
It was the "roast duck vegetarian chicken noodles" I found intriguing on this menu, in a little lunch spot near People's Square. Sept. 10th.
Even earlier (around 5:55) on the morning of September 11th. Appropriate, I now realize.
My favourite "local" tree species.
Probably taken by Sandor, September 14th, off Hunan Road (near the west end of Fang Hua Lu).
Taken by Sandor.
Fast-forward to September 23rd. Part of the gap is explained by Hong Kong; see my album at http://picasaweb.google.ca/brynharr/hongkong#
We had hot pot at a place near the main public library.
Sandor enjoying classic hot pot as he's been wanting to do ever since we got here.
French Concession. The subway to the library then walk through the French Concession is rapidly becoming our favourite Saturday jaunt. Now if only Saturdays would get back to normal! This was a Thursday.
A photogenic window (aren't they all?) on Huai Hai Zhong Lu 淮海中路。
Some are photogenic *and* italianate.
And some are very enticing indeed.
That's me hamming it up for the camera. Sandor took this one, probably the last one, and possibly the next one (which I have yet to look at).
Well, yeah, Sandor took this one too.
A short series by Sandor of what I would call abstracts.
The camera is back in my hands. This is getting near the Bund, later in the day . . . still September 23rd!
Jinmao Tower at twilight.
Looking across to Pudong from the Bund. The ads and lights are crazy -- way overdone.
Sandor posing with his favourite tower (not).
Somewhere on the Bund. Have I mention that the Bund is also called wai tan or foreign shore?
I'm a shareholder (and very occasional partaker), so I thought I'd pay homage.
And in Chinese: 可口可乐, ke kou ke le (!)
I kept drinking in the scene and taking more pictures as it got darker . . .
. . . and darker . . .
. . .and lighter, through the magic of Aperture Priority . . .
Sandor took this one, which makes me look as if I'm pasted in the foreground!
Whoa! I took this picture before I realized it had a stowaway: the moon, which after all is the star of the mid-Autumn Festival show. (The festival is celebrated at the harvest moon.)
My new favourite shot of the World Financial Center, with the moon reflected in it.
The crowds at the Bund loved the clear sky; it had been rainy the night before. This was the middle of a three-day holiday.
Enough already! Yes, okay, that's all for September 23rd.
Morning clouds on September 24th.
In the fields on my route to work. We weren't actually going to IBM; we were partly working out the best route and partly on a ramble.
Our balcony from the fields below.
Our whole building from the fields below. The street we "live" on (Fang Hua Lu) is probably more than a hundred metres to the other side (south) of the building.
Continuing our ramble on September 24th. Looking north.
The maglev track.
On one of several possible crossings under the maglev track, not the one I use every day.
The maglev in action (and it's fast! although at this point it's decelerating as it comes in to the station. Or perhaps it's accelerating as it heads out toward the airport).
One of two ubiquitous melon/squash/cucumber variants, although, hmm . . .this is a tree, not a vine. Okay, Sandor says that at the time we thought maybe breadfruit.
A very nice creek I cross every weekday now.
A typical scene in Ontario in May and June, or in Shanghai in August, September, October, and possibly beyond. >:-}
Still September 24th. I made San Bei Ji 三杯鸡，(Three Cups Chicken), a famous Taiwanese dish. A cup of garlic . . .no, that's not right. A cup of sesame oil, a cup of rice vinegar, and a cup of soy sauce, although this is a half recipe. It calls for Thai basil, but I couldn't find any.
Sandor took this picture of a familiar sight, a scow on "our" creek (next to our building). Sept. 27th.
Great place for aerial photography! Sandor took this one, too, I think. (I was at work.)
First day of National Day holiday (which is a week, of course). We went to the library and then walked back east through the French Concession. I sound like a broken record.
What a lot of English signs. (Too many.) I can't remember the name of the street, but it ran north from Huai Hai Zhong Lu, the main artery of the French Concession.
A fountain near Jing An temple.
In the vicinity of Jing An Temple subway station. Whether this monstrosity is the actual temple . . .I have no idea. I'd better read up on that.
Another view of the monstrosity. (By the way, I read up and I still don't know! But the previous temple burned down in 1972, so this may be it. I guess I should be careful what I say. If not monstrous, it's at least terribly . . . new.)
Foraging for Saturday morning breakfast on Fang Hua Lu. October 2nd, 2010.
Sandor took this photo. I can think of three distinct reasons I would never have taken it, but I include it here because the scene is such a part of the fabric of our lives.
Still on October 2nd, we wer walking south from our place in search of a large river we'd seen from a bus. (No, this isn't it.) The guy had an amazing net in this creek. Sandor took this and the next few.
"Intersection." There's an incredible system of creeks crisscrossing the city. I have remarked that they should have a ferry service on each creek to reduce congestion on the roads, but so far no-one has taken me up on this.
This is the big river. Sandor was fascinated by the boats.
Although you might not guess it, this was a few metres from the site of the public washroom that was about 10 times as disgusting as we could have imagined.
But, in general, I was delighted to find this rural part of Shanghai within easy walking distance of where we live.
If this reminds you of the place we stayed for our first week in Shanghai, it does me, too!
Back in civilization: a park! My nap spot, near where we had lunch on our way back home.
And that night I fulfilled a project I`d had in mind since we lived in Toronto: making our own jiao zi 饺子。
Although you wouldn't know it was *my* project from the photos, all of which have Sandor doing the work! (It's called delegation and supervision.)
This was October 4th, in the middle of National Day holiday.
This was my little plate of 饺子.
Cappuccino at The Casbah, across from the "big library," as we used to call it before we discovered the massive huge Pudong Library. (I'm writing these captions long after the fact, in Feb 2011.) Puxi library is still the *tallest,* however!
Wandering in the vicinity of the Tall Library, October 5th, 2010.
The vicinity of the Tall Library is also the vicinity of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, which Sandor had long been wanting to visit.
Sandor at the gate of the conservatory.
The former Shanghai home of Mao Tse-Dong, now a museum. October 5, 2010.
Mao and his family in the charming little garden of the museum.
Mid-autumn festival fireworks in Century Park, seen from our balcony.
Fireworks again, I assume?
Mid-autumn festival fireworks in Century Park, seen from our balcony, October 6th, 2010.
Sunrise on October 7th, 2010.
Sandor took over my camera when I was at work, and took a number of pictures of activity on the canal, creek, or river (we use all three terms) below our window.
I did a little photo essay of my walk to work. This happens to have been October 11th, 2010, but it's been the same route for the three months since then.
One of the more photogenic moments of the walk through the "village" between the maglev track and the abandoned subway track.
The art park near work. It's got a "number path" and all kinds of sculptures, some weird and some wonderful.
Also on the walk to work, but a different day. October 15th. This is my favourite stretch of the walk, a path through a little wood.
Close-up from the same path. I'm not sure what these are but they're widespread in Shanghai.
Another local canal, on the way to the Pudong Library, which is a 30-minute walk from home. October 16th, 2010.
The palms and and odd structure across the road from the Pudong Library.
One of the views from the library.
My private version of hell -- books in a library "arranged" chaotically!
Ah, a picture that's actually *of* the Pudong Library. It's huge and nearly new; I think the grand opening was in 2009.
Buildings west of the Pudong Library as we carried on on foot, Saturday, October 16th, 2010.
Heading south to get on the subway at West Gaoke Road, I think.
We're in Puxi, near People's Square, late afternoon, October 16th.
Somewhere on Nanjing Xi Lu. I've passed this spot several times since, but it was new to us then. I've always thought I'd like to go into this Tea Bar.
The . . I don't know what it is exactly, it's just the big tower near People's Square, at sunset, October 16th.
This became my desktop background at work for a number of weeks. Just south of the pedestrian part of Nanjing Dong Lu.
A new view of George Clooney.
One of many fascinating parkettes, a wonderful feature of Shanghai. In fact there is tons of evidence of a long-lasting prosperity in this town. There are stone pathways and marble benches. Our sidewalk right on Fang Hua Lu is bricked and very wide. Too bad people use it as a machine shop. Sigh.
October 17th at last . . .a fabulous coconut-peanut soup or sauce I made for dinner.
Sandor, the moon and our apartment window. October 17th.
Sandor took this shot and a number of others like it. I like this one. ;-) October 20th.
The leftover coconut stuff with a side from Sandor--bok choy 白菜 stir-fried with a whole lot of garlic.
Sky, October.
Sandor's favourite wall for photo backdrops. Our living room, circa October 26th, 2010.
Sandor took a few shots of the fields, looking green but getting ready for cold weather. October 29-31, 2010.
Looking northwest from the balcony on the morning of October 30th, 2010.
Sandor taking over *my* primary reading subject. This is the little cafe in the big (okay, tall) library, where we find ourselves nearly every Sunday morning or early afternoon.
Ordinary everyday garden-variety park, or park-variety garden, Shanghai, October 31st, 2010.
The Shanghai Museum, which we've walked by several times (including today, Feb. 2nd, 2011, long after I took this photo). Sandor has since been inside.
A visitor I found early in the morning of November 2nd.
Clouds at sunrise, November 3rd, 2010.
The reflection we often see on the wall of the living room early in the morning. This was also November 3rd.
Jing'An Temple station, where we emerged about to catch the bus to Ningbo. I will probably create a separate album for the Ningbo pictures.
The day Shanghai disappeared!
IBM Sports Day. Sunday, November 7th, 2010.
Fast forward to New Year's Eve (February 2nd, 2011). Will try to fill in the gap. Have had various problems, some personal, some technological, keeping up the album.
Nanjing Dong Lu 南京东路
Nanjing Dong Lu, February 2nd, 2011.
One of the literally countless fireworks displays in the vicinity, and the only one I've filmed from more or less directly beneath.
