shanghai - 4 days of business followed by a wknd of pleasure. we arrive on monday night and a guy is waiting at arrivals with our name and escorts us to the black mercedez taking us to the ritz carlton. i could not have imagined this would be our life 6 months ago! a long 1 hour drive to the hotel so only enough time to get some rest and prepare for the day of work ahead (sightseeing for malabika!)
shanghai, a city of contrasts. modern skyscrapers and modern retailers next to ancient temples, homes, and dimsum houses. the office is beautiful, on the 63rd floor, requiring a transfer on the 60th. funny, huh? an energy of power and change sweeps through the city. shanghainese are similar to new yorkers - they feel like they are on top of the world, their time has come. an absolute aura of confidence is felt in the people and rightfully so. it is their time. shanghai is also preparing to host the world expo this year from may to october so the city is under final construction preparing.
i have a couple of great dinners out - one chinese and one mediteranean with colleagues. malabika on the other hand enjoys one of our favorite dishes everday - the famous shanghainese dumpling. and has time to visit the beautiful museums. it was museum weather, 40 degrees, rainy and cold. my work week finishes around 4pm on friday and i meet malabika at the hyatt where we will stay for the wknd. with the weather how it is, we enjoy a wknd at the hotel - beautiful fitness center and swimming pool which we visit for a couple of hours everyday.
friday night we head out for a great dinner and to a jazz bar for the evening. shanghai used to be the 'paris of the east' before the cultural revolution shut down all of that activity. there are today still some great jazz and live band spots, much more lively than hong kong. a great night out followed by a day of light sightseeing. eat a lot of local food but can't do much due to the weather. a great introduction to the city. we look forward to coming back in july for another business trip and when the world expo will be in full swing.
while we were in shanghai, my parents were in siem reap visiting the temples. they arrive into hong kong the day after we get back. we spend their first night in hong kong watching the super bowl. go saints! so happy the saints pulled through and won.
parents will be staying with us for nearly two weeks and we have a lot to show them in hong kong. the first few days malabika takes them all around hong kong while i am at work. they love the city - feel extremely safe as they should. and we live right in the city centre so great for walking around and seeing the hong kong life pass by. we have 2 evenings out - avator in 3D and the merchants of bollywood musical at the performing arts festival. avator was quite good but the musical was fantastic. i have the next few days off for the chinese new year festival which is the biggest holiday in china.
it happens to be the biggest human migration period as well - nearly 300 million people are travelling across the country to see their family. lunar new year is a time to spend with family which is great to have mom and dad in town. we schedule a tour of northern hong kong on saturday followed by tickets to see the annual new year's parade. a lot of fun. sunday is the annual fireworks which we watch from my office which has a great view.
the weather remains cloudy and overcast which doesn't allow us to do some touristy things like getting out on the water but doesn't matter. so nice to spend time together. monday we head to macau for a day trip of sightseeing, eating, and gambling. my parents are not big gamblers but hey really enjoy the city and trip. we get back late on the ferry and rest.
i unfortunately had a last minute trip to singapore planned which i couldn't miss - i went for 2 nights / 1 day. malabika spent a bit more quality time with them, i wish i could have spent more time. i was so happy that they loved hong kong and loved our life here. so looking forward to them coming back for a visit!
the last week of the month was quite uneventful after such an exciting first 3 weeks. looking forward to the weather turning a bit warmer and some sun!
march holds another quick trip to singapore followed by an eagerly awaited trip at the end of the month - seoul followed by osaka. seoul for 4 days of business but malabika and i will go in one day early to enjoy a wknd of sightseeing. and osaka is 100% holiday - a quick one for 5 nights / 4 days over the easter break. can't wait!
i promise not to have such a lapse between writings. look forward to my next post in a month after the trips. until next time...
So fun to read and catch up on all your adventures here. We are not jealous of the weather by any means :) , but truly jealous of the endless exploring... What fun you two are having! I vote for more food photos!
ReplyDeleteHope you crazy gamblers win big in Macau! Don't forget to try the salted cod!