Day 6 - Lhasa

The tour of the Potala Palace began at the top (literally) and getting there was no small feat. The number of steps would have been daunting in any situation but add in the effects of the altitude and it quite a heart-pounding experience (again -literally). To make it even more challenging, we were on a schedule. Each tour has one hour to get through the palace or the guide is fined. We had 10 minutes to get to the top or we'd miss our entrance window. My guide finally decided to run ahead to purchase the ticket rather than risk my collapse. Ah, the perils of travel!

Day 6 - Lhasa

The Potala Palace is amazing in its absolute grandeur. It's one of those structures that, when you're near, you can't take your eyes off of it. As we approached the palace, I had my first encounter with the pilgrimage in Lhasa. Tibetans come from all over to circle the palace (always clockwise) and pray. I asked my guide if this happened every day. He parroted back, "Every day." I soon realized that this was part of his English language strategy. I would ask something and he would repeat back part of my question as his response. Good way to practice pronunciation.

Day 6 - Lhasa, Tibet

After greatly looking forward to arriving in Tibet, all forces seemed to be working against it being a pleasant experience. The list includes: I was travel weary; I had a pounding headache; I couldn't find my guide and when I did his English was not so good; The ride into town (it was dark) was not very inspiring. While I was hoping for a lot of local flavor, everything looked very Chinese; We turned down a very dark alley to get to the hotel and the hotel had a big metal gate (never a good sign when your hotel has a big metal gate); While the hotel staff was very friendly, the place was a little shabby AND the rooftop bar (I could have really used a night cap) was abandoned - not just closed, abandoned! Luckily, as is usually the case when the mood starts to spiral down, I was able to hit the reset button. After a good night's sleep, I climbed the stairs (huffing and puffing - alititude!) to the abandoned bar for the view. What awaited me was magical! The Potala Palace was straight ahead of me, Tibetan prayer flags tied to everything were softly fluttering in the wind, the city was surrounded by mountains and a gorgeous blue sky topped it all. I thought, "OK. This is gonne be cool!"

Day 5 - The train from Shanghai to Lhasa

Who wants to sit with the foreigner? Answer: Nobody. I can't lie. My feelings were a little hurt and it made me feel a little lonely. Traveling alone, there are always a few moments of loneliness and this was one of them. With only one dining car, people had to share tables. There I sat all alone. People kept coming in but would stand and wait for a space at another table. Boo hoo! Poor me! The good news? It was a set menu so I didn't have to worry whether or not the waitress spoke English. She just brought me this delectable tray of Chinese train cuisine. Not bad really.

Day 5 - The train from Shanghai to Lhasa

At it's highest point, the rail line to Tibet reaches almost 5,000 meters above sea level. While I was told that there was oxygen being pumped into the train, I could still clearly feel the effects of the altitude. I had a slamming headache and trouble breathing. It felt similar to when you're feeling anxious and having difficulty catching your breath. It seemed more psychological than physical and I kept thinking, "Am I really having trouble breathing?" YES! Pictured is a station platform next to a lake seemingly on the top of the world. The rumor circulating on the train was that a tourist had collapsed and died after getting out on the platform to take pictures. So we were not allowed to leave the safety of the oxygenated train to take photos. Fact or fiction?

Day 5 - The train from Shanghai to Lhasa

This was my first yak citing. Yak are basically furry, high-altitude cows and are at the center of Tibetan culture and cuisine. While in Tibet I had yak dumplings, yak enchiladas, yak butter tea (which tasted a bit like macaroni and cheese sauce), a yak noodle bowl and yak curry - all quite tasty! If there had been a McDonald's in Tibet, I'm quite certain they would have served a Yak Big Mac.

Day 5 - The train from Shanghai to Lhasa

Most of day 2 on my train-ride adventure was at very high altitude. The phrase that kept coming to mind to describe the terrain was "moonscape." BUT, considering there was snow and a fine layer of something growing on the ground, moonscape doesn't quite work. Maybe otherworldly? In any case, it was unlike anything I've ever seen in this wonderful world of ours and it was absolutely beautiful!

Day 4 & 5 - The Train from Shanghai to Lhasa

When you're on a train for two days sharing a compartment with as many as three others. you hope for good travel companions. I have to say that with one small exception, I landed on the lucky side of the draw. The first day, I was with a newly married Chinese couple who were on their honeymoon. They both worked for Chinese Petroleum and his English was quite good while she wanted to practice hers. I had a great time talking with them. The funny thing: she would talk to me when he was out of the compartment but, when he was there, she became shy and insisted that he speak for her. I was a little sad to see them go. But, as replacements. I got a delightful Chinese American couple in their 70s. They both had emigrated to the US in the 1960s and received their PhDs at the Unversity of Wisconsin. They were both very proper and dignified. Sadly, she was really affected by the altitude (more on that later) and was quite sick. I mentioned that there was a small exception to my luck of the draw. One evening, we had a fourth compartment mate who was CRAY-zee! From the time he entered the train, he talked non-stop and he talked LOUDly! He was the type who would laugh at his own jokes while everyone else just stared at him with their jaws hanging open. The only saving grace for me is that he was speaking Mandarin and would stop talking when the others left the compartment and they did leave....

Day 3 - Leaving Shanghai

Day 3 in Shanghai was shopping filled which is a little surprising since I'm really not THAT interested. However, Kathryn convinced me (and she can be very convincing) that I could stock up on Christmas and birthday gifts for the next year. So the question was: One day of shopping or multiple trips throughout the year? Easy answer: Let's shop! With a day of successful shopping behind us, Kathryn and Liam escorted me to the train station. It was a little sad saying goodbye and the train station was absolutely chaos BUT I was very excited about my two-day train-ride adventure to Tibet. I waited until the last minute to board the train since the Chinese are not that interested in standing in lines. I took one last look at the city before descending the escalator to the crowd below. Ohio Connection #1: For breakfast, we stopped at a cafe near Kathryn's office. As we entered, one of the guys noticed my Ohio shirt and shouted, "O-H!" and of course I responded, "I-O! Go Bucks!" We Buckeyes are everywhere!

Day 2 - Shanghai

The family Ferb-Silsby and I had just had a fantastic dinner at a Taiwanese restaurant when we stumbled upon the Shanghai Expo mascot Haibao. Haibao means "treasure of the sea" and is considered a typically lucky name in Chinese tradition. He sort of reminds me a bit of a blue Gumby. If you'd like to learn more, he's got his own web page. From left to right: Haibao 1, Cian, William, Liam, Kathryn and Haibao 2.

Day 2 - Shanghai

Kathryn returned from Beijing on Sunday afternoon and, in true Kathryn fashion, she was ready and willing to head out for shopping, a bite to eat or whatever. So, after some quick catching up, she, Liam and I headed for area we had been to on my last visit (Unfortunately, I'm completely blanking on the name at the moment. I find this happening more and more since I passed the big 4 - 0. UGH!). I love the opportunity to highlight areas like this since it can shatter the images a lot of us have of far off foreign lands such as China. I know the great wide world is continually challenging my way of thinking. Kathryn, Liam and I are sitting in a chic, cozy second-floor cafe which has a teddy bear theme. You can see Liam is thoroughly enjoying his teddy bear cookies. He was enjoying them SO much that we had to coax him a little bit to get him to share. I think he's taunting me at this point. From the window of the cafe, I'm looking down on one of the many twisty, turny pedestrian alleys filled with boutiques, restaurants, outdoor cafes and maybe even a club or two. Very cool. There are very few places hipper than Shanghai!

Day 2 - Shanghai

You can say a lot of things about the Chinese but ya certainly can't say that they're not clever!

In the park, they had posted the newspaper in glass-faced cabinets at eye level so that you could stand and browse the daily news at your leisure. It reminded me of the men's rest rooms in some restaurants where they post the sports page over the urinals (Sorry ladies, I have no idea if there's an equivalent in any of your powder rooms). Great idea!

Day 2 - Shanghai

When I arrived in Shanghai, my friend Kathryn was in Beijing running a 10K (which partially took place on the Great Wall. Cool!) so it was me, Bill and the boys the first day and a half. In the afternoon, we went to the same park which had earlier been over run by the active elderly. This time we went to enjoy the kiddie carnival rides. While all the rides were sparkly clean, they also had and overly bright, overly cheerful look that bordered on creepy – like a clown with too much make-up (OK, is that even possible?). Regardless, Liam and Cian really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Day 2 - Shanghai

I couldn't seem to get enough of this beautiful, bronzed, statuesque lady chatting away on her bronzed pay phone. I took at least a half dozen photos of her and this ended up my favorite. How ironic that in an ultra-modern city in which everyone is talking or texting away on their mobiles, they've put up a sculpture involving a pay phone.

Day 2 - Shanghai

You'll all be happy to know that there is a Starbucks a block from my friends' house. So, I was never denied my Starbucks fix while in Shanghai. After a coffee and a peanut butter scone (something I've not seen in the U.S.), I took a morning walk in the park which was a fascinating experience. In Shanghai (as I've seen in other Chinese cities), parks in the morning are the domain of the active elderly. This morning, there were hundreds of older Chinese participating in a variety of group exercises. There was tai chi, aerobics, sword dancing (Yes, dancing with swords. Dull swords I hope.) and something involving little plastic hoops. Part of me wanted to resist snapping photos for fear of being intrusive (I imagined someone coming into my Saturday morning yoga class and taking pictures. Blah!) but I couldn't resist.

Day 1 - Shanghai

Signs of the 2010 World Expo are literally and figuratively everywhere in Shanghai. Here, outside one of the parks along the main shopping street, we have one of the literal versions.

The less obvious but more impactful effect of the Expo on the city is the complete make-over Shanghai received in preparation for the event. The way my friends explained it to me, while an individual owns the interior of their home, the city owns or controls the building facade. So, not only had sidewalks and street lights been replaced or repaired, the government had hung new awnings over windows, added decorative moldings and, in some cases, exterior artwork.

This would be a great undertaking for an municipality, but for a city the size of Shanghai, it seems monumental.

Day 1 - Shanghai

After getting settled in, I went for a stroll around my friends' neighborhood. They live in an area known as the French Concession - an area (as the name suggests) once controlled by the French. The area is quite lively - filled with small, chic boutiques, restaurants and shops with the stores on the main street rivaling what you might expect to see on 5th Ave in NYC. This is a place that suggests, while we Americans are fantastic materialists, the Chinese can certainly give us a run for our money. Having said that, today's picture does not focus on a Gucci bag or a pair Jimmy Choo shoes but on food. Passing by, I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the hanging meat. I believe we have some chicken, several ducks and is that possibly some sort of hoof? The good news, unlike many places I've been, there is a window on the front of the shop so the meat is not hanging in the open air. Also, you'll notice the chef is wearing a mask. It is very common in Asia for people who are sick to wear face masks to limit the spread of germs. Not a bad idea!

Day 1 - Shanghai

After a 17-hour journey, I arrived in Shanghai. I met my friends' driver Mr. Wong (yes, they have a driver) outside Customs and we headed for town. About three-quarters of the way to the house, we passed the 2010 World Expo currently being held in Shanghai. I'll be the first to admit that this is a stinker of a photo - taken through the window of a moving vehicle, on a gloomy day and at a really bad angle - BUT a couple points of interest: Mr. Wong, who rarely attempts English, made a point to slow down and point out the Expo to me. I later mentioned this to my friend Kathryn and see mentioned that he, like most Chinese, are very proud of the Expo - as they should be. The Chinese have spent more on the Expo than the Beijing Olympics. It's a HUGE endeavor and yet has gotten very little press in the United States. Why do you suppose that is? Later on in the week, we visited the Expo and it was truly spectacular. Welcome to China 2010!