I've uploaded all my trip pix:
Kyoto pix
Himeji pix
Tokyo pix
Nanjing pix
I'm still working on the captions.
This is my last posting for this trip.
1/18/2009
1/04/2009
Guided tour in Nanjing
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ViewSlideshow.action?&collidparam=631724523105.114609203705.1231131013219
Click the link above to see pictures from our guided tour of Nanjing.
Click the link above to see pictures from our guided tour of Nanjing.
1/02/2009
Day of departure from China
I am sitting in yet another internet cafe at the Nanjing train station. Did you know that you have to show government ID to use computers at internet cafes in China? We dont have ID cards but some places all you to us a passport instead.
(Grr, stupid person sitting across from me just started smoking, I will now have to suffocate while I finish typing this. )
I guess they have these safety precautions to be able to trace illegal or anti-government activity to specific users. I wonder if illegal activity is a problem for internet cafes elsewhere. I don't believe I've ever had to show ID to use the internet in any other country.
Last time I complained that Japanese bathrooms had super watery soap, well, in China, obviously they dont have toilet paper, but we were well prepared with our little packets of paper that Japanes companies hand out as advertisements. However, here in China, there is no soap at all. Gross. So before every meal, I wash my hands with soapless water and then Purell them. Better safe than sorry.
The sky has been fairly clear the past couple of days and it's definitely true that the air quality is very poor. On the clearest of days, the skies still look milky blue, and the blue can only be appreciated if you look straight up. Anywhere near the horizon, all you see is a white haze. There are many skyscrapers in the center of the city, but it's hard to see past the first row of them as the haze is that thick. And of course, if you go to a restaurant, the air is equally if not more thick from all the smoking in your vicinity.
Of course it's not all bad. I've had some yummy food here, will post pictures tomorrow when I'm back in the US. The museums they have here have amazingly old stuff. But I guess anywhere you dig in Nanjing, you can find super old stuff since it has been the capital for many (8 maybe?) dynasties. The places I visited weren't really museums though. They were merely the display areas for temples or royal house/garden areas.
I went to some malls on Thursday after the family new years dinner. The new years dinner/lunch was good, many plates of food. we had our own little room. I like that about the restaurants around here. You can book rooms of all sizes. yesterday we went to a buffet restaurant and they had an open seating area and rooms that can accomodate 4, 8, or 12 people. And I think you end up paying only slightly more than eating in the open area.
So, malls, huge, and ridiculously filled with people. It was annoying that even in the ritziest of stores, you still have to bargain for prices, such a bother. Then we went to this underground mall that was filled will little mini storefronts, also packed with people. i guess the malls have to be huge to fill the masses. The only place you dont have to bargain is at the grocery store which is a relief of course because constantly bargaining is super draining and a time killer.
I am definitely not looking forward to my plane trip back, sooooo long!!! My butt is surely going to hurt again.
I hope my bags pass customs without issue. Possible contrabands, shhhh.
(Grr, stupid person sitting across from me just started smoking, I will now have to suffocate while I finish typing this. )
I guess they have these safety precautions to be able to trace illegal or anti-government activity to specific users. I wonder if illegal activity is a problem for internet cafes elsewhere. I don't believe I've ever had to show ID to use the internet in any other country.
Last time I complained that Japanese bathrooms had super watery soap, well, in China, obviously they dont have toilet paper, but we were well prepared with our little packets of paper that Japanes companies hand out as advertisements. However, here in China, there is no soap at all. Gross. So before every meal, I wash my hands with soapless water and then Purell them. Better safe than sorry.
The sky has been fairly clear the past couple of days and it's definitely true that the air quality is very poor. On the clearest of days, the skies still look milky blue, and the blue can only be appreciated if you look straight up. Anywhere near the horizon, all you see is a white haze. There are many skyscrapers in the center of the city, but it's hard to see past the first row of them as the haze is that thick. And of course, if you go to a restaurant, the air is equally if not more thick from all the smoking in your vicinity.
Of course it's not all bad. I've had some yummy food here, will post pictures tomorrow when I'm back in the US. The museums they have here have amazingly old stuff. But I guess anywhere you dig in Nanjing, you can find super old stuff since it has been the capital for many (8 maybe?) dynasties. The places I visited weren't really museums though. They were merely the display areas for temples or royal house/garden areas.
I went to some malls on Thursday after the family new years dinner. The new years dinner/lunch was good, many plates of food. we had our own little room. I like that about the restaurants around here. You can book rooms of all sizes. yesterday we went to a buffet restaurant and they had an open seating area and rooms that can accomodate 4, 8, or 12 people. And I think you end up paying only slightly more than eating in the open area.
So, malls, huge, and ridiculously filled with people. It was annoying that even in the ritziest of stores, you still have to bargain for prices, such a bother. Then we went to this underground mall that was filled will little mini storefronts, also packed with people. i guess the malls have to be huge to fill the masses. The only place you dont have to bargain is at the grocery store which is a relief of course because constantly bargaining is super draining and a time killer.
I am definitely not looking forward to my plane trip back, sooooo long!!! My butt is surely going to hurt again.
I hope my bags pass customs without issue. Possible contrabands, shhhh.
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