As Seen by TV

This was my second visit to Qibao (my first visit back in July 2010).  Located right off metro line 9, the ancient water town of Qibao is a great (and easy) visit from downtown Shanghai.

Besides the iconic views, the next most appealing thing to me are the 2元 (0.25€) and 10元 (1.24€) shops, where everything inside is that price.  Second would easily have to be the food stalls, carrying everything from freshly-made banana bread and steamed dumplings to fried crickets and other things I couldn’t quite recognize.

On August 8 Typhoon Haikui came whipping just south of a direct hit on Shanghai.  Only 2 people were killed in the city, but many more were affected in the regions that felt the full force of the storm.  This was the 3rd tropical cyclone within a week in the greater area…!

I had called my office earlier that morning stating that I did not think it was wise to come into the office, they told me I had no choice.  I got a taxi and came in late, around 11am, less than 2 hours later they told us all to hurry home as the Shanghai municipal government had just issued a “red warning” (the highest level).  Morons.  So, now that the storm was right over the city they ordered us to go home (keeping in mind that bus and taxi services had been suspended)!  I was stuck at the office.  I waited for hours until a lapse in the storm then rushed home… all these pictures were taken only just outside my office building.

As a side note, I am happy they renamed Typhoon Haikui, because getting seriously injured by Typhoon Longwang would not have been funny.  Well, maybe just a little.

The next day we made a trip out to Ayutthaya… the former capital of Siam, which was one of the wealthiest cities in the world during its prime centuries ago.  I took several hundred pictures that day, so will have to split them up, don’t know how just yet… but first, here are some pics showing the water levels from the flooding that had occurred in the months leading up to our trip.

YO!  Sorry for the hiatus, but I just got back from the Philippines.  Chillin’ hard.

Back to business…. these are some shots from the ancient watertown of Suzhou, China.  From my last post you can see I had to follow a Russian delegation around for a week and half… well, their trip ended in Suzhou, so I got some much needed free time to go out and shoot my own thang.  Holla!

For 9 days in mid-November I had to document an Executive Eduction Tour by a Russian delegation visiting China (more pics on that to follow).  Touring around Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou we visited companies and tourist attractions.  This set of images was taken at a Chinese Opera performance on and in Hangzhou’s mystical West Lake, while it was raining.  It was quite beautiful to say the least.

…and with that I wish you all a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

We spent our final day in Hoi An on the beach, followed by the compulsory final night of photographic vespertine action. Hoi An, you will be truly missed. Defo worth the visit if you get the chance…

TimVan recommends Hoi An, Vietnam.

Second day in Sagada we took a 4km hike down a mountain to check out (and swim under!) a waterfall.  I couldn’t take too many images of the waterfall itself (or the swim) because the spray would have been too much for my camera.  It was refreshingly great, only thing that ended up not being too fun was the 4km hike back up the mountain.  In the first image below you can see our guide (“Madrid”) pointing to the town located about halfway to the falls.  What got my attention was the fact that we passed many school children, who must make that trip 4 times a day just to go to school (and I thought my 45min bike ride in all sorts of weather was bad (it was, but this is worse)).

After the swim and the hike we boarded a jeepney to the nearby town of Bontoc.  Which was livened up by the colorful tri-cycles taxis (Baguio doesn’t have these as it is too mountainous).

A one hour drive east of Shanghai (map) is Zhouzhuang, the “Venice of the East” (although they call a hand-full of other towns the same thing).  So, now I’ve been to the Venice of the East, the Venice of the North (Bruges, Belgium), the other Venice of the North (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Venice Beach (California), and of course, the Venice.

Last weekend, my company had a team-building workshop near this picturesque ancient town (over two and half centuries worth), so the night before I decided to head into the old town and snap some flix…