Greetings from China

“Have been in Shanghai for the last week, should be here for the next 5 months. This city is huge and very futuristic. Bought a North Face day pack and hit the streets in the evening to check things out. Awesome! Will check out Hong Kong in about 3 weeks for a weekend. Clothing is very inexpensive, bought NF Summit Series jacket and snow bibs for less than $65 total. Heaven for a gear freak.....”

“I perfer my clothing maker to be older then 12years old.
but have a good time anyway”

“Ok, but doubt if you can be assured of the age of your tailor, lest all your gear be made in the US.”

“well there ya go.

buy USA.


PS, but stay away from anyone by the name of Kathy Lee Gifford.

LOL
Hope you are having a great time. I would love to go to china. Whats the weather like, hot? steamy?”

“I stay away Kafee Ree.

Yeah, hot and humid. But today wasn't too bad with a breeze and lower humidity. Supposed to get more pleasant towards the fall, but they say it gets cold during the winter. Time to buy a prepubescent-manufactured down coat, lol!”

“Match:

I was in Bangkok from 83/ to 8/14/2004. There were ads in the English language newspaper for flight to Singapore (for shopping I guess) for US$20 round trip (820 Thai Baht). I am not sure the fares are available for Singapore to BKK and back. Maybe just BKK to Singapore and back. But worth checking into for a weekend trip? Good luck, have fun.”

“Good to see ya Match. Take care, and come home safe.”

“Will look into that, AJ. Man, love Malaysian food, Thai too. Since my business visa is only good for 30 days at a time, the company pays for my return flight to another country (Hong Kong included). Heck, I'm closer to Seoul S. Korea than HK! Don't think I wanna go there quite yet though. Thanks for the tip.”

“Match:

My pleasure. If you go to Bangkok (BKK), be sure to take the Sky Train to the end of the line and go to the weekend market. Man it's unbeleivable. Also, go to Wat Pho (Temple) and get a massage from the Massage school there. Also, ride the newly opened subway. Shop at MKB and Central shooping cneter. BKK is a great place to visit.”

“"I am not real furry, but my forearms do have lots of dark hair andat the wrist it goes all the way around.

I was in Chang Mai Thailand at the zoo to see the Panda exhibit and was with two friends (Japanese) when we saw about 60-70 Thai school boys 8-12 years old walking toward us. The boys did not take much notice of my friends, but they certainly perked up to see a westerner (me) coming toward them. They were all looking at me and saying "Hi" and "Hello" in English and smiling and waving as we passed. All exscept one quiet little guy whi said nothing until he walked past me. Without saying a word, he reached out and ran the palm of his hand down my arms from elbow to should. At first, I wondered what all that was about, until I realized that Thais, except for pubic hair and underarm hair have next to no body hair. I was an oddity and he wanted to see what my arm hair felt like. My Japanese friends found this very amusing. I did to when I figured out what was going on.

I can imagine that the kid went back to school form his outing to the zoo and in his essay report on the zoo trip he must have sai: "Saw giraffe, saw ostrich, saw pandas. Patted hairy foreigner."

It is a story I will remember till I die. Have a great day."”

“Have a hairy day.”

“Match have fun and take lots of pictures!”

“Good to see you are doing well, Match.

I look forward to the campfire stories on your return.”

“Well, uh, nevermind.”

“Hey Match, are you going to visit Hangzhou? - its a beautiful town and not to far Southwest from Shanghai.”

“Be careful when you buy name brand stuff in China (any third world country, for that matter)...they have alot of knock-offs in the market.

One of my friends bought a "The North Face" jacket a few years back in China. He went snowboarding with it....the inside was completely dripping with sweat. We never saw that style...it was multi colored...different coloured patches sewn together.”

“What Stanlee said is true. Fake everything is rampant. There was a big scandal a while ago when babies were dying from fake baby formula.”

“There's an open-air market nearby crammed with tiny stalls that the locals call the Copy Market, well known for peddling knock-offs. One guy in our group bought a leather wallet with a 'MABE IN FRANCE' label on the inside! Others bought fake 'Rolex' watches only to have them stop working by the end of the day. Even OTC medications are known to be bogus. Many vendors push pirated DVD's, less than a buck apiece. Too busy exploring this place to sit down and watch a movie.
Indeed, buyer beware....”

“I got a korean fake rolex. still works, but I wonder for how long.

hubby also brought some suitcases. one trip and that was it.

i did get a custom leather coat that's awesome.

my kids got some jerseys that do look original, but some stuff...oh well...i send it secretly to goodwill.

hey Match!!! HAVE FUN IN CHINA!!!”

“My son did get lots of ultra cheap DVD's while living in China - they all work fine and have good quality images”

“They caught some of those mofos that were making the fake baby formulas.

Apparently they photocopied the labels of 32 different brands of baby formulas, and stuck them on cans of water mixed with starch or some other junk.

Heard the ring leaders could get the death penalty. Btw, executions are done very speedily over there....2 or 3 days....1 week max. Those commies don't f$^@ around!!!!”

“As modern as Shanghai is, and as much money is being invested in this place every day, one must still remember that this entire place is run by the state. The rights of the individual really mean nothing. All policies are determined for the collective, not the person.

Such contrasts, where at night the luxury cars race by people on rusty bicycles, blaring their horns and jockeying for position on the roads. My apartment lists for over $4k per month, and there's folks in the same block who sleep on the sidewalk.

But I'm here as a guest. Merely observing, trying hard to keep a low profile. Hard to do when you've got green eyes, blonde hair and stand about 6" taller than the general population! This weekend will brave the subway to make my way to the 300+ km/h mag-lev train, just to take a ride.....”

“Upladed some digipics to Webshots.

Hope you enjoy them.

http://community.webshots.com/user/mastercylinder55”

“Don't remeber how to embed a link in this forum. Perhaps someone could do it for me. Thanks!

PS. This is cool, but do miss the countryside!”

“Hey match, most of those fancy cars are probably stolen and shipped from here (U.S and Canada).

I remember a news article, where this guy was calling his cell phone, which was in his stolen Porsche. He was trying to contact the thief and offer a reward for the safe return of his car....no questions asked.

Finally someone answered the cell...2 days later. The concerned owner tried to negotiate a deal....but the car was already on a ship heading to Asia.”

“Pushed my way along with the rest of the locals on the subway (Metro) and took my first ride on a mag-lev train. Sort of like being on a jet liner, but much quieter. Neat way to see the outlying areas, quickly! Tomorrow, the Museum of Ancient Chinese Sex Culture. Let's talk about THAT at our next campfire....”

“Don't talk...demonstrate!!!!”

“Aw #&%!$, the sex museum is no longer there. been replaced by a massage parlor (appropriate, doncha think?). In a country where the sale of pornography is punishable by death, no wonder they closed down the professor's exhibit.

Hotay stanree, next time I show you round-eye how we f#$K you Amairkan. Maybe Home Depot an War-Mart not enoff?

LOL”

“Anyuone stroke your arm yet to feel a hairy foreigner? LOL

Seriously, how is the trip going? Did you get to Thailand? Anywhere else?”

“Tell us more of what you have been doing?”

“Hope he haven't been taking photos of prisons and military institutions. The red Chinese are not too fond of that!!!!”

“Match... hey hey, there... watch the language jokes....

The last time I was in Shanghai was 1985.... at 5'4", I even felt tall, so I can imagine how you feel!! (the first time in my life I ever looked over the heads of people in a crowd!)

The weird thing is that people in China can tell whether someone of Chinese heritage is Chinese, Taiwanese, from Hong Kong or the U.S. virtually by looking at their clothing styles and body lanquage... (at least they could in 1985...)

My family's been there since 1985 and has told me about the vast changes.... your pictures look nothing like the Shanghai I saw in '85! I cannot imagine how crowded the city is now-- it was really crowded almost 20 years ago, it gave credibility to the phrase "seas of people".....

In 85, there was separate currency for foreigners (and overseas Chinese) vs. what the locals got to use. That special currency was only available in the "friendship stores." The Friendship stores were places where the foreigners could by higher quality items than the locals--i.e. Pepsi vs. Coke (you could get Coca Cola for pennies on little sidewalk stands, but Pepsi cost $3 US for a 1 liter bottle at that time.) and the funniest thing I remember is that orange pop (soda) was available everywhere, but of course, you couldn't drink the water, so I got really sick of orange pop....

I understand that everything is completely modern these days (as evidenced by your photos.) But the idea of crime being punishable quickly still prevails.

My sister visited about 10 years ago-- her friend had a camera stolen from his luggage on a train. When he reported the loss, the engineer stopped the train and the officials searched everyone until they found the thief. The thief was then taken out to a field by the train and executed on the spot. (YES, I said executed! they shot him dead!)

My sister's friend was in shock over what happened, but I guess that is how the Chinese government chose how to keep crime down among the other citizens.... it is definitely a different world there!

One of these days, I hope to go back and see the differences a few decades have made! (some are positive-- more modernization... and some are negative-- the greed of the Western cultures have been instilled, but some of the traditional ideas about generosity and self-less giving (charity) to others have not.)

You are so lucky-- I hope you have a chance to learn some of the spoken and written language as well while you are there!”

“Match... hey hey, there... watch the language jokes....

The last time I was in Shanghai was 1985.... at 5'4", I even felt tall, so I can imagine how you feel!! (the first time in my life I ever looked over the heads of people in a crowd!)

The weird thing is that people in China can tell whether someone of Chinese heritage is Chinese, Taiwanese, from Hong Kong or the U.S. virtually by looking at their clothing styles and body lanquage... (at least they could in 1985...)

My family's been there since 1985 and has told me about the vast changes.... your pictures look nothing like the Shanghai I saw in '85! I cannot imagine how crowded the city is now-- it was really crowded almost 20 years ago, it gave credibility to the phrase "seas of people".....

In 85, there was separate currency for foreigners (and overseas Chinese) vs. what the locals got to use. That special currency was only available in the "friendship stores." The Friendship stores were places where the foreigners could by higher quality items than the locals--i.e. Pepsi vs. Coke (you could get Coca Cola for pennies on little sidewalk stands, but Pepsi cost $3 US for a 1 liter bottle at that time.) and the funniest thing I remember is that orange pop (soda) was available everywhere, but of course, you couldn't drink the water, so I got really sick of orange pop....

I understand that everything is completely modern these days (as evidenced by your photos.) But the idea of crime being punishable quickly still prevails.

My sister visited about 10 years ago-- her friend had a camera stolen from his luggage on a train. When he reported the loss, the engineer stopped the train and the officials searched everyone until they found the thief. The thief was then taken out to a field by the train and executed on the spot. (YES, I said executed! they shot him dead!)

My sister's friend was in shock over what happened, but I guess that is how the Chinese government chose how to keep crime down among the other citizens.... it is definitely a different world there!

One of these days, I hope to go back and see the differences a few decades have made! (some are positive-- more modernization... and some are negative-- the greed of the Western cultures have been instilled, but some of the traditional ideas about generosity and self-less giving (charity) to others have not.)

You are so lucky-- I hope you have a chance to learn some of the spoken and written language as well while you are there!”

“Just haven't check the board in a while.

More pictures uploaded, check 'em out.

Haven't been out of the country yet. Probably go to Hong Kong next weekend to get my passport stamped. I have a 6 month business visa, but am required to exit the country every 30 days. Next time I'll try for Bangkok.

Intended to go to Hangzhou this weekend, but my workload didn't allow for any travel. We have presentations to give to potential suppliers on Tuesday, and I'm responsible for getting all the material specifications together. So yesterday spent most of the time in the office, only 5 minutes walk away.

Last night went out for some local nite-life with a co-worker. A 10 minute cab ride ($1.50) to an American-themed grill for hamburgers and fries (Good!). Took a cab back 'home' --- another wild ride! No wonder visitors aren't allowed to drive here. Lanes and stop signs appear to be optional, right turn on red without stopping is legal, and pedestrians do not have the right of way. Ended up playing a dice-version of liar's poker with the waitresses of a nearby night club. Loose, and you drink. Held my own, but I've somewhat greater body mass than the girls, and they got blitzed. Good fun, and we paid for the beers. No wonder they want us to come back tonight!

On my short walk back to the Apt at midnight, was asked twice if I wanted a massage. Pretty girls, but no, thank you anyway....”

“Figured out how to embed a link to the website. Here 'tis:

China Pics”

“Sounds like you're having a great visit. My Chinese relatives (via marriage) are now in Hong Kong for 2.5 months. The undamaged house in my Frances pictures is their home here. I was there visiting their sons. I only got as far as Japan (15 times), but I really enjoyed life there. A full expense account plus bonuses helped, too. Hope you enjoy e very day.”