....someday you will find me, yeah, you'll find me alright slugging back the champers at The British Embassy one rainy night in Tokyo. Ah, and what a lovely way to spend a Saturday evening. This past weekend, we celebrated Alex's birthday at the Royal Society of St. George's Annual Champagne Dinner. Funny that, celebrating an American's birthday at the British Embassy. Surprised they let our sorry lot in...5 Americans, 2 Japanese, 2 Brits, and an Aussie. We had a fantastic night drinking champagne, eating nice food, chatting with all kinds of crazy expats, and then of course, heading off for karaoke. Doesn't matter how classy the night, it seems to always in debauchery with a microphone in someone's hand.
I'm hanging out at home waiting for a phone call from my boss in London. Work's having some difficult moments thus requiring a phone call at home where one can bitch, I mean speak, as freely as she likes. But I think that's all I'll say about that as my HR friends were just talking about how companies are now searching the Internet to see if an applicant has a blog online that might give them more insight into what kind of person they are...christ, the man will always find a way to keep you down.
Photos are the aforementioned evening will be coming shortly...I opted for a fab little evening bag (too small for a camera) instead. :)
Monday, June 19, 2006
Monday, June 12, 2006
Shanghai
When Timon came back from visiting Christina in Shanghai a few weekends ago, he told us that he could not come again with us because he liked it too much. A week ago, I found that logic entirely insane. Now I know what he means.
Shanghai was fantastic. We took Friday off and left around 11:00 in the morning for a long weekend of visiting Christina, seeing Shanghai, and just hanging out. We hit Xiangyang Market (aka the fake market), the Old Town, the French Concession (where Christina lives), the Bund, the antiques market, and a fine variety of bars and restaurants. Shanghai is so different from Tokyo in that it's normal. I can't really think of another way to describe it. The Chinese welcome foreigners...yeah, so they want our money but so what? At least they want us there. The Japanese don't welcome foreigners, they don't want our money, they don't really want us here at all. They tolerate us. They are perfectly polite and friendly but they would still rather you be somewhere else. Shanghai seems to have alot more English around, in stores, on billboards, on street signs. That said though, the taxi drivers in Shanghai know about as much English as the taxi drivers in Japan...which is none. But since taxis are usually about the equivalent of $3, you don't really care.
Shanghai is more laid back, more casual which I guess has to do with the weather as much as the Chinese themselves being more laid back. It was 34 degrees most of the time we were there and it felt like summer. This is also much more green space in Shanghai than in Tokyo, more parks, more trees, many trees in fact. It was really nice and was probably what was contributing to the summer feel to me. We ended up at this Moroccan bar Saturday night that was basically a huge, 3 floor tent with open air and trees right outside. It was fantastic.
There also seems to be quite the expat scene there...I swear there were more gaijin (well, laowai really, gaijin is Japanese...) around Shanghai than I ever see in Tokyo. Maybe it's sheer number of people in Tokyo compared to Shanghai, not sure but it was nice to see people that look like you. There is less banking in Shanghai (at the moment, I would think) and more industry (building, engineers, architects, etc.) so I'm told the expats tend to be more Spanish, French, German instead of American and British. Tokyo definitely has more American and British expats...and stranger ones as well. There is something about Tokyo that draws the interesting ones...maybe it's just the fact that they can get a girlfriend. I'm told Charisma Man is still alive and well in Shanghai but we don't guess he's thriving as much as in Tokyo. The Chinese women are not nearly as sweet and submissive as the Japanese and will probably tell most of the hard core Tokyo Charisma Men to take a flying leap.
I really, really loved Shanghai. It was great to be back in Asia again (Japan is really not Asia as far as I'm concerned) with the heat, the cold beers, the bargaining in the market, and even the man hacking up a lung onto the street. It's just real, not the sterile Disneyland that Tokyo seems to be sometimes. Don't get me wrong. Tokyo is a great place and a place that I am happy in for the moment but that Shanghai bug has been planted and we'll have to see if it festers and grows into something more. I think we might go back in November...stay tuned. :)
A few photos...the rest will be up on Ofoto soon.
Yuyuan Gardens - Old Town
Huaihai Road - French Concession...this is Christina's street
View of the Pudong side from The Bund
World Cup fever hits the Old Town
Shanghai was fantastic. We took Friday off and left around 11:00 in the morning for a long weekend of visiting Christina, seeing Shanghai, and just hanging out. We hit Xiangyang Market (aka the fake market), the Old Town, the French Concession (where Christina lives), the Bund, the antiques market, and a fine variety of bars and restaurants. Shanghai is so different from Tokyo in that it's normal. I can't really think of another way to describe it. The Chinese welcome foreigners...yeah, so they want our money but so what? At least they want us there. The Japanese don't welcome foreigners, they don't want our money, they don't really want us here at all. They tolerate us. They are perfectly polite and friendly but they would still rather you be somewhere else. Shanghai seems to have alot more English around, in stores, on billboards, on street signs. That said though, the taxi drivers in Shanghai know about as much English as the taxi drivers in Japan...which is none. But since taxis are usually about the equivalent of $3, you don't really care.
Shanghai is more laid back, more casual which I guess has to do with the weather as much as the Chinese themselves being more laid back. It was 34 degrees most of the time we were there and it felt like summer. This is also much more green space in Shanghai than in Tokyo, more parks, more trees, many trees in fact. It was really nice and was probably what was contributing to the summer feel to me. We ended up at this Moroccan bar Saturday night that was basically a huge, 3 floor tent with open air and trees right outside. It was fantastic.
There also seems to be quite the expat scene there...I swear there were more gaijin (well, laowai really, gaijin is Japanese...) around Shanghai than I ever see in Tokyo. Maybe it's sheer number of people in Tokyo compared to Shanghai, not sure but it was nice to see people that look like you. There is less banking in Shanghai (at the moment, I would think) and more industry (building, engineers, architects, etc.) so I'm told the expats tend to be more Spanish, French, German instead of American and British. Tokyo definitely has more American and British expats...and stranger ones as well. There is something about Tokyo that draws the interesting ones...maybe it's just the fact that they can get a girlfriend. I'm told Charisma Man is still alive and well in Shanghai but we don't guess he's thriving as much as in Tokyo. The Chinese women are not nearly as sweet and submissive as the Japanese and will probably tell most of the hard core Tokyo Charisma Men to take a flying leap.
I really, really loved Shanghai. It was great to be back in Asia again (Japan is really not Asia as far as I'm concerned) with the heat, the cold beers, the bargaining in the market, and even the man hacking up a lung onto the street. It's just real, not the sterile Disneyland that Tokyo seems to be sometimes. Don't get me wrong. Tokyo is a great place and a place that I am happy in for the moment but that Shanghai bug has been planted and we'll have to see if it festers and grows into something more. I think we might go back in November...stay tuned. :)
A few photos...the rest will be up on Ofoto soon.
Yuyuan Gardens - Old Town
Huaihai Road - French Concession...this is Christina's street
View of the Pudong side from The Bund
World Cup fever hits the Old Town
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