Phuket, Phi Phi Islands

Among the many activities to do while visiting Phuket is taking a boat ride to one of the many islands where you find very pristine beaches and wonderful swimming and snorkeling. One of the more popular/famous islands to go to is the Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee) islands. The day starts with being picked up at your hotel at 8am, arriving at the docks around 9am and after getting organized, leaving the docks by 10. It is a one hour boat ride, I think it is a 20 mile trip, on these boats the hold between 30 and 40 people with 2 or 3 large outboard engines. The trip is fairly smooth but there were some swells out there that made the trip more interesting. The locals have been very successful in packaging these island tours. On any one day there could be between 20 to 40 boats pretty much all doing the same trip. After an hour ride we stopped at one of the islands to do an hour of snorkeling, from there we went to the main island where there is a small town and had a set lunch. Then back on the boat to do some site seeing around the islands. One stop was in this big enclosed bay area where the opening scenes from Jurassic Park were filmed. We did some swimming there, the water was crystal clear. Next we stopped at the site where The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed in 2000. We stopped to take a jungle walk and a swim on this beautiful beach. We then made one more stop for another hour of snorkeling and then back to the docks by 5 and the hotel by 6. Overall the day worked out very well, good snorkeling and swimming and we saw some of the must-see sights when one visits Phuket, but the overall experience was a little more touristy than we typically like.

Phi Phi Islands

town area

stopping for lunch

our boat, holds up to 40 people

Jurassic Park cove

went for a swim, very clear water

Leo's beach

tour boats 

the girls

beautiful views 

leaving the islands

lots of power

Christmas in Shanghai

The Chinese and especially the Shanghainese like all things related to western glitz and glam. Because of the long history trading with western countries and their many years of influence, Shanghai has adopted many western ways and finds excuses to decorate and add sparkle by adopting the commercial aspect of some favorite western holidays. So many major international companies have offices here which has brought a large number of westerners living in Shanghai  all of which have fed this great curiosity of western culture. Of course the Chinese are great at adapting everything and Christmas is a good example. Christmas in Shanghai is like being in a Hallmark card advertisement. When roaming around Shanghai this December I took several pictures of Christmas making its appearance. In the down town areas international companies put up Christmas decorations. In areas where many expats live, many of the local shops that cater to the westerners also have Christmas displays. Paulaner Beer Company which has 5 restaurant locations in Shanghai has a traditional German Christmas market over one weekend in December.  There are no religious references, no mangers  etc. It is very superficial and really just another way to have people buy more stuff. Sound similar?   

local salon where I get my hair cut

shopping center a block from where we live

Heineken's display

Cartier

click on pic to enlarge

at a street stall

another street stall, featuring the new x-mass colors

at the high end mall

Paulaner who serves great beer and very good German food

visited by Chinese and westerners alike

there are many Germans in Shanghai 

Phuket, ME's reward

The island of Phuket is located in southern Thailand in the Andaman sea. It is 30 miles long and approximately 13 miles wide. It is known for its year-round tropical weather, beautiful beaches, wonderful snorkeling and SCUBA diving. Phuket formerly got its wealth from tin and rubber and it enjoyed a rich and colorful history as a major trading port between India and China. It now gets most of its income from tourism. As many of you know on December 26 2004 an Indian Ocean mega earthquake caused a huge tsunami which struck the South Asia area including Phuket. Several of the western coastal towns in Phuket suffered extensive damage. A year later most of the resorts where back in business.  

After Dow Chemical bought Rohm and Haas, ME's office was moved from center city Philadelphia to Saginaw, Michigan. She spent 3 years commuted every week from Philly and stayed in the Marriott Fairfield Inn in Saginaw. The payoff  was the rewards points she accumulated in Saginaw which allowed us to stay at the 5 star Marriott Phuket Beach Club. Below are some pictures from the resort. More about our stay in the next several posts. 

upon arrival we were given a lei

resort lobby

view from the lobby

zoom in

pool area

click to enlarge

swim up bar

pool side dining

path to the beach

water activities 

Beijing, random pictures

Margot and I jumping The Wall

Margot & Linda on a turret

We were so lucky to have such a beautiful day at The Wall

Margot and I doing our best Ming Dynasty impressions 

in Yin/Yang tradition, women step through a threshold with the right foot and men step through with the left

it is very common for babies to have a split in the back of their pants, this allows for easy toilet training  

mythological feng shui beasts

was standing in front of a urinal when these guys walked in, almost pee'ed on my shoes   

Linda and artisan who paints the insides of snuff jars in her home in the hutong 

in a rickshaw in old town Beijing 

Beijing, Temple of Heaven

Built in the early 1400's it is a series of buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods. Among the more famous buildings are a prayer hall, an echo wall and a round alter. The emperor of China was regarded as the Son of Heaven who was in charge of all earthly matters and represented the heavenly authority. To show respect to the heavens the emperor would perform sacrifices in these buildings. The most important ceremony was at the winter solstice where the emperor would personally pray for a good harvest.

The Temple of Heaven is in the middle of Beijing, it is in a park that covers 270 acres. Over 4000 cypresses were planted in the park some almost 800 years old. Unfortunately the morning we were there it rained and we did not get an opportunity to explore much of the park, I also did not take many pictures. It had a really nice feel and beauty, it would have been nice to walk around a little or have a picnic lunch there on a better day.

Temple of Heaven

Margot giving a helping hand

built of all wood using no nails

looking from the alter to the echo wall

Beijing,The roof figures

In the Forbidden City the most important buildings have figures on the eaves of the roofs. My sister Linda was very fascinated by these figures, to the extent that she is now considering add a set to the eve of her roof.

These roof charms are only allowed on official buildings of the empire. The more important the building the more figures. Made of glazed ceramic and colored yellow, this was the color reserved for the roofs of the imperial buildings.The Hall of the Supreme Harmony has the highest number in the Forbidden City. 

The first figure is a man riding a chicken, he is followed by nine mythical beasts in this order. The dragon, protects against fire by controlling the rain and the sea. The Phoenix, is the king of the birds and controls the wind and air, the loin, is the king of the beasts and the most powerful of the animals. The lion protects the country and imperial rule. The heavenly horse, can run like the wind and travel thousands of miles in a day, Saun Ni, a mythical beast which is a combination of a lion, wild beast, and wild horse, The guardian fish, a wind and storm-summoning fish, the xiezhi, a monster which could tell right from wrong and uses its horn to gore an evildoer, and a bull which dispels evil and fights the enemy with its horns. The last figure is a imperial dragon representing the authority of the state.

the eave of the Hall of the Supreme Harmony