Adventure of the month

View from the Bund China's "Chinatown" Huxingting Teahouse Resident of Yu Yuan Gardens The Shanghai Museum Bronze arrowhead from the Museum's collection Bronze neckrest Bronze Ox-shaped wine vessel (early 6th century-476 B.C.) Nan Jing Pedestrian street Rush-hour commute It may look like I have gone a little over the top while posting Day 7 photos, and I probably have, but this was a really busy (and photogenic) day. Plus it was warm (in the 50's and possibly even low 60's). And I had found a cough syrup wonder drug, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa (which I have since found in both NY and Philly's Chinatowns) so I was no longer hacking like a 5 pack-a-day smoker. It was glorious. We started the day with a group visit to The Bund , the landmark waterfront area along the Huangpu River. If you have ever seen a postcard from Shanghai, you have seen the Bund. As we drove along the main road, our local guide Mr. Bell (or maybe B...

One of Xian's antique markets Daoist monk Inside the Temple of the 8 Immortals Xian's Drum Tower Day 6 and our remaining time in Xian was pretty limited. We had only the morning to ourselves, before we had to rejoin the group for a flight to Shanghai. Some of the more ambitious members of our group used the free time to rent bicycles and ride around atop the city walls. We opted for a more relaxing morning at the Temple of the Eight Immortals , a Daoist temple a short distance outside of the walled city. Our cab driver dropped us as close to the temple as he could, but that still required us to walk through a thriving "antiques" market where much haggling ensued. Shawn, for reasons known only to him was trying to ask a saleswoman about the tiny three-legged stool she was using, so for the rest of the gauntlet, vendors, one and all, were popping out of their seats and trying to sell them to us. Passing up the porta-stools, we could have also bought fake...

the Terracotta Warriors Museum: Pit One Pit Three (a representation of how scientists found the original sight) The kneeling warrior. Back inside Xian's walled city The Great Mosque My Xian taxi driver It was day five, we were already more than halfway through our tour, yet I felt like I was just beginning to get my bearings. It was just starting to feel natural greeting people with a " Nie Hao " or showing appreciation with a " Xie xie ". I had just about convinced Michael, who would ask me each day if I would still be eating vegetarian, that this might just be a permanent thing with me. My body clock had fully adjusted, although not enough to join the horde of people doing tai chi in the park next to our hotel at 6 am (hell, I could live out the rest of my days in China and still not be motivated enough to join those diehards in the freezing rain at such an unnatural hour). My cold was even getting better yet this week was going...