Fuxing Park

Fuxing Park designed in the French style is one of Shanghai's most attractive green spaces. Formerly a private estate in the center of the French Concession, it was bought by the French residents living in the area  who opened it in 1909. It is styled after your typical Parisian city park, with wide tree lined walks and flower beds. It is now one of the city's most popular parks with many pleasant fountains, children's playgrounds, including a carousel, and lovely garden areas. 

One of the more unique aspects that we've observed of Shanghainese culture is how many Chinese people gather in the park at different times throughout the day for all kinds of activities. Early in the mornings you will find the Tai Chi loyalists. During midday and throughout the afternoon you will find groups of ballroom dancers, karaoke singers , opera singers, men playing Chinese chess and cards, groups discussing politics and other controversial subjects, folks gossiping, and doing water calligraphy on the walkways using giant brushes. In the mornings on weekends old men bring their song birds in bamboo cages and sit with them on the park benches. Besides all of this you will find families strolling around the park or picnicking on the lovely  grassy areas and of course you will find your dog walkers and the people watchers.

Pattaya

While visiting Bangkok, ME and I made a side trip to Pattaya. It is a popular beach resort on the Gulf of Thailand around 100 miles south of Bangkok.  The city has about 100,000 people including many Russians. The area around Pattaya is considered to be in a large industrial zone with many plants including a Dow site.

It is an older resort, has seen its day, but interesting at the same time. We stayed at a new Hilton Hotel on the beach situated on the upper level of a high rise complex. We had beautiful views from our room and it was very interesting to watch the beach activity throughout the day.

Hotel with shopping complex

ME and I arrived Sunday afternoon and had tea on the roof top patio of the hotel. Unfortunately the weather was overcast and rainy for the two nights we where there. It was still monsoon/rainy season there and the resort would not start to get busy until November.

click to enlarge

This is the view from our room and the view of the pool area of the hotel with the shopping area and street level below.  There was an infinity pool with these huge lounge pods able to accommodate 3 or 4 people some with little canopies which overlooking the beach and bay. It was very cool.

view from room

very cool pool aera

night view

Each morning boats would appear on the beach waiting to shuttle visitors to the different islands just off the coast. We found out that it was very popular to visit the islands to enjoy water activities and different beach experiences.  It seemed like bus loads of people would gather on the beach to be shuttled away. Other boats would take groups to floating docks in the bay for parasailing. At any one time there were 20+ people in the air. You were lifted and landed very gently on and off  the dock. The boat would slow down just enough to unhitch one person from the line and hook up the next , and off you go. 

boats arriving in the morning

I was fascinated by the morning boat activity 

parasailing with islands in the background 

beach scene 

promenade along the beach

road paralleling the beach

A shampoo and trim

Shanghai, like most cities has many beauty and hair salons. Before we moved ME pioneered  going to these salons while she was traveling to Shanghai last Spring. She found that it is very typical to visit these salons for a shampoo and a massage. Once a week she would go after a long day in the office and get a wash and massage.

I could not figure out what the big deal was all about until a went to get my first hair cut in July. It takes over an hour and I will try to describe the process.

Once in the salon you are seated and assigned a shampoo girl. She starts by brushing and massaging your hair and scalp with a big bristle, large, flat brush. She also gently hits you on your shoulders and back with the brush.

Then you start one of two dry shampoos. While sitting in the chair, shampoo is squeezed on your head and water is added to make a thick rich lather. With the ends of her fingers she gently massages your head, upper neck and around your ears and temples. After 7/8 minutes the lather is gathered up,  removed and the process is done again. Oh - and did I mention that you are getting this wonderful gentle head message?

Next you are moved to a reclining padded chair with a rinsing sink attached to the end. Your hair is thoroughly rinsed. A hot towel is placed under your neck to raise it up just a little and conditioner is applied and the head massage continues. This time the focus is around the ears, temples, forehead. Within minutes you begin to melt away in the chair. The conditioner is rinsed off and you are asked to keep your eyes closed. Your eyes and forehead are gently flooded with water for several minutes. Once done the extra water in your eye sockets are thumbed out and the steps are repeated. She then presses on one ear as the other ear is flooded with water, this is repeated with the other ear.

Just about able to get up, you return to you original chair where your ears are cleaned with several q-tips. Did I mention a massage yet? Next up is the neck, shoulder and upper back massage. Then the arm, hand, and finger message. One of the funny things that is done is to gently beat on your neck, shoulders and back with their fists.

You are moved to the stylist chair where your hair is cut. When done you return to the rinsing chair where conditioner is applied again and rinsed. You return to the stylist for a blow dry. Done!

Most of the girls - like in any salon - are some where in their twenties, but here they stand about 5'2", all look around 16 and can give a heck of a massage. The haircut was almost an afterthought. But this is how they do it at the local salon, nothing shady, nothing weird, just a much more holistic approach - just like when men would treat themselves to a shave at the barber shop in the old days. 

After a hour+ process, I know what you are thinking to yourself, what could all this cost??? 88 RMB, in US dollars, $14.50. So when you visit, even if you do not need a hair cut then a shampoo and massage is a must.

dry shampoo

the stylist 

Bangkok

Bangkok is a city of contrasts. It is consider to be a major regional player in finance and business, an international hub for transportation and healthcare and an emerging regional center for arts, fashion and entertainment. It has a vibrant street life, historical cultural landmarks, as well as notorious red light districts,  giving it an exotic appeal. It is the world's third top tourist destination after London and Paris and was named "World's Best City" for three consecutive years by Travel and Leisure magazine.

Bangkok sits on the Chao Phraya River delta. The river meanders through the city and with its many canals the river as a major mode of transportation to get around the city. We were very intrigued by the waterbuses and taxis (longtail) on the river. 

water bus

inside the water bus

long tail taxi with huge engine 

Chao Phraya River

We arrived mid day on Friday afternoon and immediately went to the Grand Palace and the famed Wat Phra Kaew. In the heart of Bangkok it is made up of a series of buildings, halls, pavilions, gardens and courtyards. It served as the official residence of the Kings of Siam (Siam the old name for Thailand)since 1782. The current monarch now resides elsewhere.

grounds of the Grand Palace

click to enlarge

inlaid stone and gold murals in the inner court walls, there were dozens like this 

ME in action

my little camera could not capture the beauty 

In the palace is the Wat Phar Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which is the most sacred temple in Thailand. The Emerald Buddha is 26" tall and carved from a single jade stone. It has a rich history with origins from India, records of being in Cambodia in the 15th century, Laos in the 16th century and final returned to Thailand in the 18th century.

The Emerald Buddha

Also in the palace is Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles. Her Majesty the Queen Sirikit  and her husband have been the head of state in Thailand since 1946. The  Queen was very active in promoting Thai textiles. From the 60's to today, dresses from the queen's personal  collection  are on display. She often traveled abroad to promote traditional Thai textiles. Her elegant wardrobes pushed her to the top of the International Best Dressed List in 1965 which helped revive the interest in Thai textiles and silk. Here is Me and I trying on traditional Thai outfits at the museum. 

ME and I in Thai dress

Chatuchak Weekend Market is the ultimate in shopping experiences. Covering 35 acres with upwards to 5000 stalls it is the largest market in Thailand. It has a huge variety of products from household items, clothing, Thai handicrafts, religious items, collectibles and of course food.  After spending several hours wondering around we had to stop and get a foot and shoulder message at one of the stalls.

giving our feet a treat

over 5000 stalls 

click on to enlarge

taking a break, ME with fresh coconut water and out waiter

Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok and home to more than one thousand Buddha images. It is also home to the largest Buddha image the Reclining Buddha at 160 ft in length. The temple consists of a working monastery and school. There is an inner courtyard surrounding the main temple which is lined with hundreds of these Buddha images.

a big Buddha

over 800 lined the inner courtyard

beautiful views at every turn

Singapore

Per Wikitravel, Singapore is a city-state in Southeast Asia. Founded as a British trading colony in 1819, since independence in 1965 it has become one of the world's most prosperous countries and boast the world's busiest sea port.
Combining the skyscrapers and subways of a modern, affluent city with a medley of Chinese  Malay ans Indian influences and a tropical climate, with tasty food, good shopping and a vibrant night-life scene, the Garden City makes a great stopover or springboard into the region. 

This is by far our new favorite Asian city and one of the most impressive places we have been to yet. The Singapore government must have taken a Disney blueprint for a theme park and built an entire city. It is an island nation with just over 5 million people and is roughly 3.5 times the size of Washington DC.

 While we were visiting, Singapore was hosting the annual Formula One Grand Prix race. One of only 2 cities where the race is held on the city streets and is the only night race. The race added a lot of excitement to the city and made our visit all that more unique. A great link to what is said about Singapore and the race.  http://www.singaporegp.sg/media/news.php?id=103

While ME was making her visits in the office, I got a chance to explore some of the cities attractions. I went to the Garden by the Bay a relatively new project by the Singapore government to transform Singapore from the "Garden City" to a "City in a Garden". The Garden has two conservatories, the larger one is the Flower Dome containing plants from the Mediterranean and semi-arid tropical regions and the other is the Cloud Forest which contains plants found in tropical mountain regions. The park also includes Supertrees that are tree like structures and are linked together by an elevated walkway. For those who like gardens here is a wiki link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardens_by_the_Bay

Arial of the park 

The SuperTrees

inside the dome

SuperTrees and elevated walkway

Just across the highway is the Marina Bay Sands. It is a combination of a 2500 room hotel, a convention and exhibition center, shopping mall, museum, theatres, ice skating rink, floating pavilions, and the world's largest atrium casino. It was developed by the Las Vegas Sands. The three tower hotel is topped by a 370 yard long SkyPark, which includes a observation area, and an infinity swimming pool among other hotel amenities. This is a very cool looking building, it looks like there is a giant surfboard on top.

 For those of you who would like more information here is a wiki link to the hotel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Bay_Sands

Marina Bay Sands complex

close up of SkyPark

infinity pool

view of the Formula 1 race grand stand
concerts are held on the floating stage during the night race

The Flyer Ferris Wheel with race course
the pods on the ferris wheel are used for viewing and entertaining during the evening race

F1 car on display

Late one afternoon ME and I went to the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel to view their artwork collection. It is billed as one of Southeast Asia's finest (under the radar) collections of modern and contemporary art. It includes a 3 ton Frank Stella piece in the entrance anchored by a pair of Dale Chihuily glass sculptures. Other pieces include paintings by Andy Warhol and David Hockneys, among many other artists.  It is all free and the hotel offers an iPod guided tour. All of these items are in very public spaces on several floors of the hotel with many people walking by them not really knowing what they have just passed.

We also stopped by the world famous Raffles Hotel. A colonial-style hotel first opened in 1887 named after Singapore's founder Sir Stamford Raffles, it is known for its luxurious accommodation and superb restaurants. After walking around the hotel grounds we took a seat at the tropical garden courtyard bar and had a Singapore Sling.

night view of the financial center