It's official - we are on our way home this Saturday!
It is hard to believe that we have been living in Shanghai for 2.9 years. Today we officially handed over our keys to the apartment and became tourists in China - no longer residents. We leave on Saturday! This picture is taken on our new electric scooters - they are knock off's of the old Italian Vespa scooters. The color of Molly's is really eye catching and since we have a restuarant 1.5 miles from our new house - we think these could be a fun transportation mode (they only go about 15 miles per hour).
The time has gone so fast and we have seen so much - often it is hard to keep it all in perspective and appreciate all that we have been able to experience. There is a line in the song City of Blinding Lights by U2 that says "the more I see the less I know." I now realize how little of the world I understand - especially the more we have seen through our trips. The similarities of what people want in whatever country they live in is amazing - better life for their children, safe enviornments, education, appreciation for their heritage, and time with their families. It is funny that as we rode with different drivers around the region, or talked to people from all these different cultures - the concerns, hopes, dreams were all very similar - and reminded us that maybe we are not all that different.
Although it is easy to get sentimental as we leave China - in true China form many things happen that just keep reminding you that this country is so different. Things like having the people above our apartment keep working at 2 in the morning with hammers, our TV being turned off during the election of a new governement, my phone dropping every 3 minutes, and hearing people spit all the time.....but then we go to a dinner with our team (they have become like our family here) and all of that is forgotten. Each of these people have taken care of us, making sure we don't do anything to stupid or helping us communicate with all the people around us - making sure that our experience was a gift.
This will be our last post for this website - we expect that although we will have many more adventures they will be much less enteraining. We are really grateful for the experience and hope you have enjoyed our stories.
The time has gone so fast and we have seen so much - often it is hard to keep it all in perspective and appreciate all that we have been able to experience. There is a line in the song City of Blinding Lights by U2 that says "the more I see the less I know." I now realize how little of the world I understand - especially the more we have seen through our trips. The similarities of what people want in whatever country they live in is amazing - better life for their children, safe enviornments, education, appreciation for their heritage, and time with their families. It is funny that as we rode with different drivers around the region, or talked to people from all these different cultures - the concerns, hopes, dreams were all very similar - and reminded us that maybe we are not all that different.
Although it is easy to get sentimental as we leave China - in true China form many things happen that just keep reminding you that this country is so different. Things like having the people above our apartment keep working at 2 in the morning with hammers, our TV being turned off during the election of a new governement, my phone dropping every 3 minutes, and hearing people spit all the time.....but then we go to a dinner with our team (they have become like our family here) and all of that is forgotten. Each of these people have taken care of us, making sure we don't do anything to stupid or helping us communicate with all the people around us - making sure that our experience was a gift.
This will be our last post for this website - we expect that although we will have many more adventures they will be much less enteraining. We are really grateful for the experience and hope you have enjoyed our stories.
Golden Triangle Trip --- Fantastic!
This trip is one that we have wanted to go on since we came to Asia. We started in a city called Chiang Rai where we were then taken to the Tented Camp of the Four Seasons. You can only get there by boat and there are only 15 tents....you will see pictures of the tents in our picture gallery and understand why this is the only type of tent that Molly would want to stay in. This area is often called the "Golden Triangle" because Thailand, Burma and Laos all intersect here....we did go to the river where all three countries touch. This area is also known for their poppy production for opium. We learned a lot of history about the Opium Wars while we were here - really interesting!
The Four Seasons has an elephant refuge attached so every morning we fed a baby elephant (5 years old) and then we got to go on a elephant trek in the jungle...that is where this picture is from. We also got to see Burma for a day. That was really incredible to see - we were in one of the nicest areas and the poverty was everywhere.
After spending 3 nights in Chiang Rai we moved for another 3 nights to a city called Chiang Mai which is a art area for Thailand. I have put a lot more detail in the blog if you are interested - including how we petted live tigers.....we also have a video that is fun to watch.
The Four Seasons has an elephant refuge attached so every morning we fed a baby elephant (5 years old) and then we got to go on a elephant trek in the jungle...that is where this picture is from. We also got to see Burma for a day. That was really incredible to see - we were in one of the nicest areas and the poverty was everywhere.
After spending 3 nights in Chiang Rai we moved for another 3 nights to a city called Chiang Mai which is a art area for Thailand. I have put a lot more detail in the blog if you are interested - including how we petted live tigers.....we also have a video that is fun to watch.
Great Wall Half Marathon - Awesome!
Last weekend Eric and I ran the Great Wall Half Marathon outside Beijing. It was amazingly beautiful and really challenging. The first 3.1 miles was uphill at a 15-18% incline to get to the wall and then we ran/walk about 3 miles on the wall. The last 7.5 miles was done by running to a small village and back that is nearby the wall. Although that area was flat it was a true village -- lots of trails, rocks and cars. There were some villagers sitting around watching us run - and I am sure they were thinking that this is a crazy thing that only western people do. Which in this case is accurate because I think we only saw about 20 Chinese people out of all runners.
This picture is a look at one part of the wall that we were on. In certain areas the wall is very narrow and steep so there would be some bottlenecks since walking was required and only 1 or 2 people could go at a time. They only allow 2,600 people run in the race because of the limitation of The Wall. There are 5,164 steps that we need to do and you can see from this picture the up and down terrain that you need to cover. There is a full marathon which we did not do....after doing this one I can honestly say I would never do that full marathon it was brutal - we had a work friend do it and it took him about 7.5 hours and they have to do the wall portion 2 times - yikes. We have added some other pictures to our gallery for those of you who would like to see some other shots. This part of the wall is about 2.5 hours out of Beijing so it does not have the same level of tourism as other parts that are close to the city.
The other great thing that happened last weekend is that my father joined us here in China for the first time and came to the race with us. We did some touring in Beijing and are now going to be in Shanghai and Xi'an for the rest of the week. We will post some pictures from that later on, but just thought that the shots of the Wall would be fun for people to look at..
This picture is a look at one part of the wall that we were on. In certain areas the wall is very narrow and steep so there would be some bottlenecks since walking was required and only 1 or 2 people could go at a time. They only allow 2,600 people run in the race because of the limitation of The Wall. There are 5,164 steps that we need to do and you can see from this picture the up and down terrain that you need to cover. There is a full marathon which we did not do....after doing this one I can honestly say I would never do that full marathon it was brutal - we had a work friend do it and it took him about 7.5 hours and they have to do the wall portion 2 times - yikes. We have added some other pictures to our gallery for those of you who would like to see some other shots. This part of the wall is about 2.5 hours out of Beijing so it does not have the same level of tourism as other parts that are close to the city.
The other great thing that happened last weekend is that my father joined us here in China for the first time and came to the race with us. We did some touring in Beijing and are now going to be in Shanghai and Xi'an for the rest of the week. We will post some pictures from that later on, but just thought that the shots of the Wall would be fun for people to look at..
Indian Vacation - Taj Mahal and Rajasthan Tour
So this picture was taken from the famous bench at the Taj Mahal at 7:00 a.m. in the morning. We were the first people through the doors on our second morning so we could get a couple of pictures without anyone else in the background. This monument was absolutely amazing - the beauty of the building, the workmanship and the sense of peace (especially when no one was there) was awesome!
Our trip started here and went for the next 9 days across Rajasthan to see some of the oldest and most interesting forts, castles, etc in India. The people were amazing and the overall experience was fantastic - often overwhelming - but we are so glad we did it!
I hope you enjoy the blog and pictures - there was so much to talk about that it is really a lot to read - it includes camel and elephant rides as well as driving across India - which is by itself an adventure. Pictures are posted video's will be later in the week :).....
Our trip started here and went for the next 9 days across Rajasthan to see some of the oldest and most interesting forts, castles, etc in India. The people were amazing and the overall experience was fantastic - often overwhelming - but we are so glad we did it!
I hope you enjoy the blog and pictures - there was so much to talk about that it is really a lot to read - it includes camel and elephant rides as well as driving across India - which is by itself an adventure. Pictures are posted video's will be later in the week :).....
Hue, Da Nang, and Hoi An - Vietnam
OK - I know it looks like we didn't go riding on these bikes - but the previous day to this picture we did!!!! All day long through the countyside of Vietnam -- it was absolutely amazing. Molly rode the motorcycle on her own all day without hurting herself or anyone else (amazing!). These bikes are Minhtz bikes from Russia - the same as the 1950's design....they were really loud. We spent about 6 hours on the bikes driving to an area called My Son (me soon) - which is similar to Ankor Wat but was pretty much destroyed during the Vietnam War. We also got to go through several key bases of the American's - you could still see where the helicopter's were held and waited for a call to go out and get people during the war. During the day it was raining so hard we were soaked and didn't get as many pictures as we thought - but we did take some video's which you will be able to see in our other sections. Hence we had to go back and take a picture the next day. I was amazed by the beauty of the country but also how the people lived. We have put more facts and information in our blog for anyone who is interested.
Lhasa, Tibet - The Potala Palace
We have made our first visit to Tibet and it was beautiful. Lhasa is the only place that we visited. It is a great introduction to Tibet - it has been the capital since the 7th century. The picture is of Eric and I in front of Potala Palace of the Dalai Lama. Lhasa is at about 3,700 meters above sea level - and you can definitely feel it when you first land. I now understand why that call it the rooftop of the world. The Tibetan people were wonderful to watch - there is no word for religion in Tibetan because in their world it is absolutely intertwined with their daily life. While we were there you could see what this means to the people. We walked one of the holy circuits around 2 temples with over a thousand Tibetans who were chanting, carrying their handheld prayer wheels, and spinning the prayer wheels along the path. It was a spiritually moving experience to see their faith and culture. More in our blog....
Tibetan Pilgrims Walking into the Courtyard of Potala Palace
I love this picture. It is a family of Tibetan pilgrims walking into the courtyard where events used to be held for the Dalai Lama. The brown banners you see on the building across the way is the balcony where the Dalai Lama would watch the activities. It is directly off the throne room and area where he would meet with leaders or monks. Tibetan Buddhism came from India in the 7th century - prior to this Tibet practiced a faith call Bon. This was an animistic faith with emphasis on magic and spirits. As buddhism spread it actually took on many aspects of the native, shamanistic Bon religion, incorporating Bon rituals and deities. Like most buddhists Tibetans believe in re-incarnation - consecutive lives that are better or worse depending on the karma or merit accrued during the previous life. We watched many pilgrims chant and leave gifts for all the different buddha's that were throughout this palace. One of the most common offerings besides money is Yak butter. Which has a very distinctive smell and is in every monastery across Tibet.
Trip to Cambodia -- AMAZING TRIP -- we loved it!
This temple is called Banteay Srei and it stands out in this area due to its craftsmanship. It has some amazingly beautiful carvings made of pink sandstone. So this trip to Cambodia is probably in our top 5 trips we have ever taken. We flew into Siem Reap and had an amazing hotel with great food throughout the city! This area is know because it has the temples at the height of the Khmer empire - these temples were built from 930 - 1190....and were basically lost to the jungle except for the complex of Angkor Wat which has had monks living there since the beginning. The temples are primarily Hindu with one king who was Buddhist. The people of Cambodia were wonderful and the food was really good. I have written a long message in the blog section with a lot more information - because it is really an amazing story. There are still land mines in Cambodia - we were not at any of the temples where that would be an issue - but it is very strange to see signs about land mines -- it continues to be an issue as they work through the whole country to get rid of these hazards. Lots of pictures in the gallery and videos in that video section if you want to review.
Angkor Ta Prohm -- Tomb Raider site Cambodia
Day trip to Zhoushuang - Canal CityWe took a day trip to the canal city of Zhouzhuang with some friends from work. This is the number one canal city in China - supposedly. It was quite cold so not as many people as usual but it was really fun to walk the streets and see the vendors and people who live there. We have put some pictures and videos in the gallery and video area for anyone who wants to see more.
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Megan Murphy announced as a winner of the 2011 Contemporary Artist of the NorthwestThis is a picture of Timmi's work "A Perfect Day" from her show at Volta NY. She has already sold several pieces from her new work. It is so beautiful it is amazing I am related to her. I am attaching a link to PDX Gallery in Portland that represents her work - and also has a bunch of her work highlighted. We are all so proud, that I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware of her success!
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On top of the Sydney Bridge!
As a teambuilding event in Australia we all climbed to the top of the Sydney Bridge....it was awesome. we did have to get in that very fancy suit and we were attached to a safety line all the way up - which was a little nerve racking. At the point of this picture we are about 135 meters above the water....our hotel is actually behind us and we looked over the opera house as well. We love Sydney - it is a very nice city to live in...and the weather was beautiful!
Happy Holidays from Phuket, Thailand!
Eric and Molly got to spend the holidays in Phuket, Thailand at the JW Marriott Resort. It was beautiful and the weather was amazing. The picture is of us at the Christmas Barbecue on the beach...it is completely different than anything else we have done for the holidays. I think we have a video of the band - it was like a Thailand Version of the BeachBoys. The weather was about 85-90 degrees during the day and about 80 degrees at night. The food was great and the atmosphere was really festive. This area is very popular for expats across the region and was packed with families who have come from previous years. Molly was fighting a very bad cold all week - which you will be able to tell in the video's that she narrates.
After 7 days at the beach we went to Bangkok and have included more photo's and information in our blog about that part of the trip. Much more historical information and a little bit more about the culture. Hope you all had a great holiday!
After 7 days at the beach we went to Bangkok and have included more photo's and information in our blog about that part of the trip. Much more historical information and a little bit more about the culture. Hope you all had a great holiday!
Molly makes a quick unexpected trip home!
Molly got to make an unexpected trip to Seattle - it was fantastic! She got to meet her new nephew - Bastian - he is very cute.....she even babysat him for 2 hours without anyone else around - very impressive! It was a great opportunity to see some family and get some things done before the end of the year. Things are going well for us in China and we are getting ready for our trip to Thailand...Eric has always wanted to go. The weather is supposed to be great and I am hoping we can paddleboard on the ocean a little. Work is winding down in the the US, but the crazy thing is that China is very busy - because they do not take any holidays over this period of time....it actually happens from Feb 2 - Feb 8 for them. We will be in Australia on the Gold Coast (near the Great Barrier Reef at that time).
We are thinking of our families and friends. We wish you a happy and healthy 2011! Have a great holiday season....
We are thinking of our families and friends. We wish you a happy and healthy 2011! Have a great holiday season....
Eric's interview in the Shenzhen local paper on intellectual property
Eric was recently at the International Meeting on intellectual property and organized crime in Hong Kong where he lead one of the workshops. The General Attorney, Eric Holder, from the US was one of the key presenters at the meeting. The meeting was over 3 days and Eric had four media interviews during the week. The image at the left is from one of the published interviews.
The other thing we recently did was go to see the Jingnan Temple. The original temple actually fell down in 1216 - this new one is actually only about 50 years old -- because the other one was removed brick by brick by a billionaire to place it near his home town. A little crazy -- so the new one is not that old but it does still have monks living there. We have added pictures to our website.
We also had our first APAC Regional Sales Manager Meeting in Shanghai. It included 110 Sales Leaders from around the region....it was a crazy time! The team building event we did was a rickshaw race. We had 10 teams that built a cardboard rickshaw and then we had a race. I put one of the video's on our website so you can see what it looked like. It was funny.
The holiday season is almost here and we hope you are all getting ready and excited for Thanksgiving!
The other thing we recently did was go to see the Jingnan Temple. The original temple actually fell down in 1216 - this new one is actually only about 50 years old -- because the other one was removed brick by brick by a billionaire to place it near his home town. A little crazy -- so the new one is not that old but it does still have monks living there. We have added pictures to our website.
We also had our first APAC Regional Sales Manager Meeting in Shanghai. It included 110 Sales Leaders from around the region....it was a crazy time! The team building event we did was a rickshaw race. We had 10 teams that built a cardboard rickshaw and then we had a race. I put one of the video's on our website so you can see what it looked like. It was funny.
The holiday season is almost here and we hope you are all getting ready and excited for Thanksgiving!
Shanghai, World Expo -- We finally went
This is a picture of the UK Pavilion at the World Expo. This is actually a bunch of lucite rods with a different seed pod at the end of each one....it is the coolest pavilion by far.....The expo ends this weekend and because we waited so long there were 860,000 people there at the time we were. We walked around for about 3 hours -- but did not get into any pavilions because the lines were so long. We do have some videos of the different areas in our video section if you want to see more.
One of the pictures we included was me talking to some mechanics -- actually I wasn't talking I was trying to give them my phone to talk to my driver -- the police wouldn't let him back in to pick us up from where he dropped us off -- then we had to try and find him in that mass of humanity -- took us about 45 minutes and several phone calls. Turns out he was just across the street...typical!
One of the pictures we included was me talking to some mechanics -- actually I wasn't talking I was trying to give them my phone to talk to my driver -- the police wouldn't let him back in to pick us up from where he dropped us off -- then we had to try and find him in that mass of humanity -- took us about 45 minutes and several phone calls. Turns out he was just across the street...typical!
Budapest, Hungary
Here is picture of the Budapest Parliament building from the castle grounds area. This was a great trip and we enjoyed the city tremendously. If you have not seen Prague then we would go there first, but otherwise getting to see this is really cool! There was also a wine festival going on this weekend and we enjoyed the festivities and lots of good wine....
We had some amazing food at the restaurants and the people were incredibly friendly. We also stayed in the Gresham Palace which is one of the best Art Deco examples in Europe -- it was beautiful and close to everything. We could walk over the chain bridge, see St. Stephens and walk to all the castle ground areas. On Sunday night Molly got to go to a concert that was amazing! There was an organist, tenor, soprano and violinist all doing Ava Maria....it was so beautiful!
We highly recommend going here - a wonderful part of eastern europe to visit!
We had some amazing food at the restaurants and the people were incredibly friendly. We also stayed in the Gresham Palace which is one of the best Art Deco examples in Europe -- it was beautiful and close to everything. We could walk over the chain bridge, see St. Stephens and walk to all the castle ground areas. On Sunday night Molly got to go to a concert that was amazing! There was an organist, tenor, soprano and violinist all doing Ava Maria....it was so beautiful!
We highly recommend going here - a wonderful part of eastern europe to visit!
Morges, Switzerland
This is a picture from a winery in Morges, Switzerland overlooking Lake Geneva. These vineyards have been here since Roman Times and are a Unesco World Heritage Site. We have more pictures from inside one of the specific winery's we had dinner at....it was an amazing location. We have been trying to figure out why we thought China would be a good idea -- especially after we saw the Eaton Headquarters for Europe. The lunch room looks out over Lake Geneva and Mount Blanc....really a beautiful location.
Dhobi Ghat Mumbai, India
Below is a video of the Dhobi Ghat clothes washing area in Mumbai, India. This is one of the big spots tourists go to because it is a very old way to wash clothes and is famous. There will be a movie coming out shortly about life in this arena. Molly was in India for about 5 days there are more video's, photo's, and a blog post with more information. She went a little crazy with video's but tried to make sure you got see a lot of what she was seeing. The people were very friendly but the amount of poverty was beyond disturbing. The indian people are very proud of their heritage and when I asked about the poverty - they have a different way of looking at it. What they told me that it is a part of their faith and that those people who are living in poverty must have done something wrong in their previous life - so in order to come back better in the future they must accept this life and live it as best as they can. I think I use the word amazing about 20 times throughout the video's because you cannot believe it when you are standing there looking at everything - it is like nothing I have ever seen before.
Shanghai Xintiandi - It's Were We LiveXintiandi is probably the most Western part of all of China. A new development made to look old with good western food and a constant flow of tourists, mainly Chinese! The picture is looking down at the park just across the street from the main Xintiandi area taken from our balcony. So within a 5 minute walk we have access to Starbucks, a movie theatre, a bunch of great restaurants, bars and night clubs with both DJ and live music! Here is a link to the area so you can get a feel for it... by the way it is pronounced "Shin Tin Dee" www.xintiandi.com.
Our apartment is in a complex called Casa Lakeville, we are in the most recent building, 12, on the 13th floor. In fact it is so recent that we are the first tenant which means everything is brand new! It includes some services like a work out room, pool, and meeting rooms. You can check out the property at http://www.casalakeville.comweeblylink_new_window. The unit has three bedrooms and we have two spare beds so visitors are welcome. Just give us plenty of notice as we are slaves to our schedules lately and find ourselves all over the region. |
Singapore staff meetingEric and I had to go to Singapore for a staff meeting prior to our vacation. This casino is new and it actually costs money just to go inside. Also, there is a garden on the top of the hotel and there is a charge to up there and walk around. We did not go there, but had a team building event where we got dropped about 150 feet in a swing -- I wanted to throw up - Eric was ready for more.
Singapore is another city in Asia Pacific that a lot of expatriates live in, due to the airline connections for the rest of the area. We decided while we were there that it was a lot better than Shanghai. You could almost feel like you were in Hawaii in certain parts of the island. It is very small and hot -- but beautiful and very tropical. The other great thing about Singapore is that we could actually drive a car -- we would not need a driver. There are a lot of unique rules for singapore (like if you spit out gum on the street you can get "caned")....but overall very easy to live in relative to Shanghai. On our blog we will talk a little more about our vacation and the crazy walk we did on our first weekend back. |