Who Says Austin, Texas Does Not Get Snow — Look at the Photos

Well, I was on the flight to China, while in Austin, TX suddenly the winter brought a white surprise — SNOW!!! The tail tail signs of the snow started while I was in the plane on the tarmac at the Austin Airport waiting to take off for Dallas…. We were delayed to take off….because…..of having to have the plane deiced!!! By the time I hit Taipei about 26 hours later, I was emailed photos of our yard in Austin covered in SNOW! And a snow that stayed for more than 24 hours. Take a look at the photos — I think they are pretty neat. Especially the blooming jasmine bush covered in snow flakes :-)

More about Qingdao - A Winter Day in this interesting city…

This is my second posting from Qingdao — I spent three days here and enjoyed a stay at the Grand Regency Hotel on Hong Kong Street (丽晶大酒店), which is a nice hotel for the price. The rooms are large and nicely furnished (although the overall furnishings are a bit tired). Here is a photo of the insides of the room I stayed in

So on Sunday I decided that it is time to explore the city — no matter how cold it was…After a hearty breakfast in a Chinese buffet - yes, this hotel is Chinese owned and run and with a different view of the breakfast buffet vs. the Grand Hyatt Taipei let’s say… No pineapple here :-( but still had my fried eggs and lots of dumplings…and coffee was OK.

Then after doing some work I braved the howling wind and headed out in the town - the objective was TianHou Temple and the downtown pier at the bay.

Today was a sunny day, but the wind made it still freezing… After a cab ride, I reached the temple and was pleasantly surprised - not crowded and relatively colorful. Bought some Year of the Tiger charms from the monks, and came across a small shop of a paper cuts artist - bought a paper cut of the year of the tiger and she gave me a sheet of her biography - very nice lady.

Then I walked for a mile to the bay with a pier that reaches pretty far out in the sea. On the pier there were all sort of people trying to sell stuff - mostly it appeared illegally (as they hurriedly collected their wares a couple of times while I was there on what appeared the approach of police). I saw a guy display on the boardwalk sea stars (I think that is what they were called — I took pictures)
pulled fresh out of the bay. They were beautiful - yellow undersides and blue-purple tops… I heard one of the mulling people asking or concluding “yes, they are good eating…” — oh, well too bad for the creatures…

Given the freezing wind, it was amazing how many people were on the pier -

my guess many of them visitors from the country side - the local Qingdao crowd was probably staying warm at home ;-) as the rest of us visitors were trying to catch a view of the ocean and city…and I don’t blame them - after about 10minutes on the pier I was ready to head to a warmer place…
That turned out to be the local Parkson Dept. Store…after a quick walk through it - I headed out again and continued my walk along Zhongshan Lu and the near by streets. A detour brought me to an imposing church built on a hill of Zhongshan Lu…a remnant of the times the German residents occupied a large chunk of downtown Qingdao…(The story goes as such - Qingdao was surrendered to Germany in the late 18 hundreds after two German monks were killed in the city and German troops marched here)
Took a lot of pictures - the architecture along side Zhongshan Lu is very interesting - you would think you are in a European town…

By 4:30pm I was finally too cold, so I hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel. The cab was a VW Passat - admitedly a bit nicer than the VW Santana cabs which are prolific - but I had an interesting surprise - “luxury” comes at a price - the meter of that cab was quickly running up the tab… When I asked the driver “what gives…?” - his response was “well new model cab - new price…”. He sounded almost apologetic. By the time I got back to the hotel the meter was at RMB26 !!! While at noon the same trip cost me RMB17!!! What is that - over 50% markup…
Another interesting observation - the paper cut of the Chinese Zodiak Year of the Tiger in a frame done by a local artist cost me RMB25 …hm…?!?! Peculiar…!?!?
The difference between the local and global economy…

Taxi Cabs in Beijing, Qingdao (and other cities for that matter)

As you can tell from many of our postings we have lived in China for a number of years, having come and gone a number of times. Many things about life in the country are changing very fast and to the better — the quality of life is definitely going up, many of the cities in China are becoming very cosmopolitan, and so on and so forth. One thing seems to be staying unchanged though is the attitude to taxis in China. Every year I expect a remarkable improvement in their cleanliness, their safety and every year I get unpleasantly surprised at the same thing — the more China is changing the more its taxis are staying the same :-) I put a smiley face here but in reality there are many unpleasant aspects of the taxis in China. In most cases you can not find a safety belt for the passengers. If you look for them you will find that they are hidden / trapped under the seat covers or under the actual seats…. Good luck using them. Over the years the taxi drivers have become more aggressive and speedier — in some cases they drive on the city highways at speeds around 100km/hr. An accident in those conditions and with you wearing no seat belt will not be a minor thing…..

Then there is one other aspect that really baffles me — it is winter, the temperature outside could be in the range of -5 degrees C, and the cab driver cracks the window open and drives that way ???!!! What is that all about….? It is not like they are feeling warm — in all cases they are dressed in heavy winter clothing and constantly rubbing their hands when stopped at traffic lights. But the window on the driver side and in many cases on the front passenger side has to be open half way almost —> with pretty awful results — cold wind hitting you (the passenger in the back seat) in the face and causing your eyes to tear up….

Whenever I have pointed out that anomaly to the drivers they look at me as if I am asking a major / strange question. “Of course we have to keep the window open… How else will we get fresh air…”

Oh, well — cars can become technological marvels and I still will probably see the cabs going by with cracked open windows in the cold winter days of Beijing (or any other city for that matter)….

One advice. Of course dress warmly and if you feel uncomfortable — just try to ask the cab driver (or gesture to the driver) that you want that window closed…. And of course try to find a cab with safety belts that are NOT hidden — yes, they do exist! Happy travels.

Qingdao - first review since 2006 - JiMo Shopping Area

Earlier today I landed in Qingdao following a brief flight from Beijing. I was greeted by the a very cold winter Qingdao day — temperature of 1C. Of course I flew in from Beijing, which is not exactly a balmy place either, so I should not be complaining too much…but I just don’t like the cold wind and freezing temperatures….

The last time I was in Qingdao was in the Summer of 2006. At the time, the beaches were full of tourists and the ocean was nice and warm. Now, as I was driving in a cab to the hotel I saw just a few people on the ocean side streets and all of them were bundled up and looking very, very cold.

Once I made it to the hotel I decided to head out and check out some of the neighbourhoods. What a better way to experience a city — just jump into the local scene — check out the local shopping areas. So I headed to JiMo Market area. Well, that was a major let down :-(
I made it there by 5pm and most of the shops were closing (on a Saturday at 5pm ??!!!) - go figure. But then the shops looked pretty run down — even if they were open, they were not exactly exciting looking. I took a bunch of photos (will publish them later on once I get to a speedier VPN connection) and briskly headed back to the main street. Needless to say — I DO NOT recommend the JiMo Market.

View of the JiMo Shopping area in Qingdao

Another view of JiMo shopping area

Compact Digital Camera Wars: Lumix Vs. Coolpix

Recently, we found ourselves in the market for a new compact digital camera to be able to use on trips where our beloved Nikon D90 was not an option due to luggage space constraints. Our local Costco had a good deal on two promising looking compact digital cameras: a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 on sale for $179.99 and a Nikon Coolpix S570 discounted at $149.99. The two cameras had a similar basic feature set–both had 12 megapixels and a 2.7 inch LCD display. The Nikon was slightly smaller and had a sleeker appearance…and I have to say, based on our favorable experience with the Nikon D90, we were initially predisposed toward the Nikon Coolpix. However, when we delved a bit deeper into the camera specifications and read some online reviews, our ardor toward the Nikon Coolpix began to cool slightly. While both the Coolpix and the Panasonic Lumix got favorable reviews, the Lumix’s were a bit better, and it clearly boasted a more upscale feature set. The Lumix has a 8x optical zoom, compared with the 5x on the Nikon, and its slightly larger size allows it to have a considerably longer battery life–330 pictures, as opposed to the 220 pictures that the Nikon Coolpix is supposed to have. The feature that really tipped the balance for us, however, was the faster continuous shooting speed for the Lumix, which has 2 frames per second as opposed to 0.6 frames per second for the Nikon Coolpix. The icing on the cake was the Lumix’s HD video resolution (1,280×720), as compared with 640×480 for the Nikon Coolpix.

After trying out both cameras, it was obvious to us that the Panasonic Lumix ZR1 was the clear winner. The shooting speed was a standout difference between the two cameras and the Lumix seemed to have a more easily viewable LCD in bright sunlight. The extra $30 for the Lumix was easily justifiable.

Some helpful online reviews of the two cameras:
CNET review of Panasonic Lumix ZR1

CNET review of Nikon Coolpix S570

Very detailed Amazon user review of Panasonic Lumix ZR1

More updates on Travel to/from Hong Kong Airport to Shezhen

The questions about how to get from Hong Kong Airport to Shenzhen and back keep coming up in various forums. Even now that there are direct flights from Taiwan to China (rather than via Hong Kong) the topic is still active. The fact is there is still a border and a border check between China / Shenzhen and Hong Kong — so it takes time and effort to make the connections. I have done the trip via various modes
* Ferry: Hong Kong airport to Shekou (described here: http://site.chinafinds.com/travel/?s=Shekou)
* Plane: Shezhen to Hong Kong Airport or Macao Airport and on to next destination
* Van / car : you get picked up in Shenzhen and the driver helps you with the transfer
* Taxi to LoHu border crossing — cross on foot — taxi, MTR or van to other points in Hong Kong

All these modes are fine based on what your challenge is — time, money, effort…. :-) Or if you go often to Shenzhen / Hong Kong, try them all :-)

I have put the timetable for the CSK lines in the Resources section of this Blog

Street Performer off WangFuJing

Just recently I was scanning through the videos we had taken during various times in Beijing and came across an interesting one (not great quality unfortunately — the evening we took the video we had just a small pocket digital camera with us which had basic video functions). That evening friends of ours and us went out for dinner in the Pacific Plaza Mall (near the intersection of JianGuo Avenue and WangFuJing) and after dinner decided to take a stroll in the area. We ended up in one of the backstreets (near the night food market) selling the usual small eats and trinkets but we also came upon a stage where amateurs performed various Beijing Opera acts….. So if you are interested in that, this could be an easy area to get to and spend some time checking out the various performers — apparently they are different each evening….Here is a short video of what we saw and heard:
Beijing Opera Performer off WangFuJing in Beijing

Review of Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Gardens

If you are visiting Las Vegas and are looking for things to do with your family or friends you may be tempted to visit the Ethel M Chocolate Factory. After all it is advertised and promoted as “quite an adventure in various Las Vegas related travel sites. Well, mine and my family’s verdict after following the advice of those Web sites — SAVE YOUR TIME! AVOID THE ETHEL M CHOCOLATE FACTORY.

WHY?

Well think of the following experience: On our way back from a trip to the Hoover Dam we decided to look for the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and tour it. We plugged in the address in our GPS and headed off to the supposed adventure. Upon arrival we were rather surprised by the large number of tour buses in the parking lot. It was late in the afternoon just before sun set.
We entered the factory to find a very narrow corridor which was glassed in on one side and revealing a view of the factory floor — where we saw a bunch of mixers and other machines obviously used in the making of chocolates. Walking along the wall through the corridor was a 10minute experience — at the end of which was a table with samples.

An employee of Ethel M Chocolates was there to hand out the samples — there were two kinds: white and milk chocolate — small bonbons. My wife asked if she can sample both — just one of each. The response was rather terse “NO!” Only one per person….. Oh, what a decision — which one should we choose :-)

Then the corridor / tour ended up in a huge store — this is where the real action was :-) Lets buy very expensive and overpriced Ethel M Chocolates!!!! After all you have spent the time to get here — might as well buy some chocolates :-(
We DID NOT…..

Then we decided to see the “famous” Cactus Gardens…. Well if you have not been in the Arizona or New Mexico or Nevada dessert, this may be a place to see a cactus or two…. Other than that, SAVE YOUR TIME AGAIN. Not worth it.

All in all — this is a place to avoid. There are plenty more very interesting places to visit in and around Las Vegas. I will write some more on these soon.

Happy Travels!

Trip to Zion National Park - from Las Vegas

Well folks, the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are almost over - literally a few hours left of the weekend and the first work day of the new decade starts - tomorrow is January 4th….But in the next few hours I will try to catch up on posting photos and writing a brief set of notes about what my family and I considered the noteworthy points about some of the trips we took during this vacation.

So lets start — first topic: ZION NATIONAL PARK. In planning our trip during the week of December 20-25th we had several destinations in mind (Las Vegas of course — it was the place we were going to stay the nights, the Grand Canyon, Zion). ZION was certainly a very pleasant surprise — its beauty was quite something! But first things first. If you are willing to spend only a day at the park — which is what we planned — then you can certainly make a day trip out of it. Plan to leave your hotel in Vegas early in the morning. The trip is about 170miles (one way) — we stayed at the Signature at MGM Grand — and will take you approximately 3 hours of driving. Here is a link to the driving directions (per Mapquest — our GPS system showed similar route)

Once you get close to the park, you will enter the town named Hurricane — interesting name :-) where you will see many rock and jewelry shops. We did not get a chance to see any of them as on the way in we wanted to spend as much time as possible in the park so we did not stop. Later that evening, on our way out of the park everything was closed — surprise ! We had forgotten that it was December 24th — yes we visited ZION on Christmas Eve. Needless to say there were plenty of benefits of that — most importantly — the park was near empty. We felt we had the place to ourselves. One of the park rangers told us that there are 5000 cars that enter the park daily in the summer!!! On Dec.24th there were may be 5 :-)

Once in the park, we went to the visitors center (only a couple of miles after the main entrance), where we took a map and were told that the best thing to do for a day trip is to take a drive first on the North Fork road (along the Virgin River) and then backtrack and take Route 9 / Zion Mt.Carmel Hwy through a couple of tunnels and as far as we would like to go past the two tunnels.

It is very difficult to narrate all the beautiful views we encountered on both roads. The North Fork gives you access to see the Grotto, Angels Landing, Big Bend, West Rim, Court of the Patriarchs, Temple of Sinawava…. all these names are neat but the best thing to do is to see the photos (at least) - my descriptions will not do them justice.

The views from the Zion Mt. Carmel Hwy are very different — also spectacular… Here you will get the benefit of climbing through a series of switchbacks in the road. Since we were pretty much alone (or one of the few cars in the park) it was very easy to stop or pull off the road at many of the pullouts and of course took tons of photos….Going through the tunnels gave us the opportunity to see some interesting views as the tunnels have “windows” to let natural light in — as they were built in the 1920s and finished in 1930, there was no provision for electricity — and none is needed as the tunnels are small and the “windows” provide plenty of light and of course give you the opportunity to see the canyons framed in a different way.

On the way out of the park we stopped at a bridge just before the visitors center and again had the opportunity to snap some great photos….

The return journey back to Las Vegas and our hotel was uneventful — we spent the time recounting all the different sights we had encountered and deciding when we will make a longer trip to ZION next…. Hopefully soon :-)

The first set of photos are active on the Web — two albums….

One album is from photos taken in Las Vegas (various hotels and exhibits) and one album with a bunch of photos from Zion National Park. The Park is stunning. I will write more about it in the next 2 days or so. For time being enjoy the images — I believe they speak for themselves….