Bits of Yangon and Bagan

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is covered in over three tons of gold. It is one of the most important Buddhist sites in the world. It was raining while we walked around, but it was nice to see the pagoda without it being swarmed by tourists. 

Kitty in the pagoda! I found this cat hiding from the rain. Below him/her are tiny bowls that are used to bathe Buddha sculptures at various points around the pagoda. 

Bagan pagodas. There are more than 2,000 in this small city. 

No shoes inside temples!

There are many many strays roaming the streets in Myanmar. This one was taking a break from the heat. 

Food

There are few things in this world I know better than food. I've eaten it three times a day, everyday since I was a wee one, so I feel like I know it pretty well. But when I go to China, I always go through sensory overload at various restaurants. The smells, sounds, and tastes of different foods really confuse my taste buds. Here are a few of the foods/food stands I've seen so far. 

This woman is making Zongzi, a sticky rice, mini pyramid shaped snack that is popular during the Dragon Boat Festival. 

Skewers for snacking' on the go

I think this is a sort of Chinese yogurt that you can add your own favorite toppings too. 

We've seen so many fruit vendors on this trip! These vendors carry pounds and pounds of cherries, mangosteens, pears, and apples

Shanghai's Diverse Architecture

I had trouble using my VPN in Shanghai, but here I am! 

I wanted to talk a little bit about Shanghai architecture. One of the coolest things about the city is that the range of building types is incredible. We see this when looking at the Bund, a string of buildings created during the early 20th century when Shanghai was controlled in part by foreign powers, and then looking across the Huangpu river to Pudong. Pudong used to be rice fields, but today its home to the Oriental Pearl Tower and the second largest building in the world - the Shanghai Tower. The two sides of the river are completely different. One side is older and represents Shanghai's complicated history with the West. The other side was all made in the last twenty years and looks a bit futuristic. 

Shanghai is a mix of art deco, traditional Chinese architecture,  futuristic style, and so many other building types. 

 Three of the tallest buildings in Shanghai standing in a haze

The Oriental Pearl Tower

The famous Pudong skyline. 

Most residential buildings in Shanghai look a bit like this - mid-rise, plain, a bit worn, and close together.

Old style Chinese neighborhood. 

Tianzifang. A shopping center in an old traditional Chinese neighborhood that is meant to attract lots of tourists. 

Hopefully this gives you a taste for the variety of architecture styles used in Shanghai. 

See you soon! :) 

To Myanmar and China

Hello Again!

It's been quite a while since my last post on April 16th 2014. Since then I've returned to CT, graduated high school, and signed up for another big trip. This time I'll be going to China and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). I'll be traveling with a student group and we'll be studying river cities. More on that later.

I hope to post semi-regularly, but I'm worried about the Great Firewall in China that prevents the use of Facebook, Youtube, and often cracks down on the use of google sites. I also have no idea what the firewall is like in Myanmar. Still, I have a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that will hopefully create a little portal into those blocked sites.

First stop on our trip is Shanghai...

View of a smoggy Pudong beside the Huangpu river

I lived there for five months last year, but I'm excited to go back to see old friends and explore Shanghai by studying the rivers that the city relies on. 

Until then, I've got a lot of packing to do!

Suzhou

Last weekend we took a trip to Suzhou. We visited temples, gardens, a canal, and a silk factory. Suzhou is a lovely city and I'd love to return. It's a little gem right outside of Shanghai (only an hour and a half away!) 

One of our first stops in Suzhou was at a silk factory. Well...it's more like a shopping mall with an attached factory. In any case, it was really interesting to see the silk making process. 

1. The worms hatch, grow up, and make their cocoons in only a few weeks. 

2. The cocoons are put into hot water joined into a clump. 

3. The beginning strings of the cocoons are combined and attached to a spindle. 

4. About five of these cocoons make only a single thread! 

5. From there, the threads are cleaned, dried, and spun so that they are ready to be made into clothes. 

One of Suzhou's most famous features is its canals. We took a short boat ride and bumped into this one. It's a pretty skinny canal. Along the canal are tiny shops and restaurants. Like Venice in China.

The food by the canals was crazy! People were eating entire squids on sticks (above). Graham and Dad  tried the Squidsicles. Below are a a couple pig dumplings and a jelly fish. So cute! Even better, they were vegetarian. 

La Boca de la Verita! In Rome we had planned to go to the famous Roman sign, but there were always lines of people waiting to visit it. Thankfully, Suzhou had their own version! It was fun.

At a Buddhist temple there were women walking around the temple in prayer. 

One of the other visits had a bell! We even got to ring it. Check out the damage on the red log. The paint has worn out on the front and the wall in the back has been hit quite a few times. It wasn't us :)! 

Flowers, Bonsai, Goose!

Spring is here! There are so many lovely flowers blooming! We've been spotting flowers in Suzhou, rock gardens, Buddhist temples, and around tea houses. 

We found this bloom in a Buddhist temple. The temple is hidden away from the bustling city. Along with decorated trees, there are some pretty cute cats. 

This fallen little dude was at the Yu Garden. 

Wisteria! This wisteria bridge is in Suzhou inside a large garden.

The gardens in Suzhou had huge Bonsai trees. They almost look like regular trees, except they are still pretty small. 

A goose by the Yu Garden. Just thought this post needed something extra. 

Kittens!

Our building has kittens! They are about 3 weeks old and they live in a cardboard box. The mama kitty seems to be getting a little stir crazy though because whenever we visit she practically jumps out of the box. The guards give her water and we have just picked up some kibble for her at Walmart. 

So cute!

Mama Kitty