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

The Sightseeing Tunnel

The Shanghai Sightseeing Tunnel is a three minute ride under the river to cross to Pudong. Only 30 years ago, the area of Pudong was rice-fields, today it's skyscraper central. If you've seen any pictures of Shanghai, they were probably taken in that area. 

The tunnel is different though. It is a bit like light shows of the holiday season, but instead of lit snowflakes and x-mas trees, there are tubes of lights strewn across the tunnel. 

I guess I would say that it is the combination of a holiday light show and a car wash. It might not be as epic as you hoped, yet the pictures can be really cool. 

We're Famous! *not really*

Welcome back to A Virtual Postcard! I have many adventures to report! We've traveled to the Bund, the Hyatt, the Sightseeing Tunnel, and the Shanghai Museum. Not to mention our daily adventures on bicycles and around town. 

Our day at the Bund was a bit smoggy, but there were still plenty of things to see! I think it's interesting how locals openly stare at you or take pictures of you. The photo below is of a tourist couple and their baby. Do you see the crowd? There are two women taking close-up shots and a huddle of men around. Now, I love babies too, but I have never experienced such a phenomena. 

Also, people like to strike up conversations and ask where you're from. It was a bit unsettling at first, but you get used to it. 

Musei Vaticani

This post is a bit late, but I couldn't leave Rome without mentioning the Vatican museums! Although I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the Sistine chapel, I snapped a few shots of modern, renaissance, and ancient Egyptian art.

I'd like to start off by saying that the walk to the Sistine chapel is a long one. First you buy your ticket and climb the main steps, then you go through hallway after hallway until you reach the chapel. 

The Sistine chapel is worth the walk though!

On the walk you can pass through the lovely Raphael rooms. They were commissioned by Julius II in the early 1500's and Raphael and his workshop covered the walls in frescoes. This is the School of Athens. 

Not only did Raphael paint ancient Roman philosophers, but he included a portrait of himself and Michelangelo. Michelangelo is the man in purple in the foreground. Raphael and Michelangelo were working around the same time, so it is likely that Raphael would see Michelangelo sketching plans for the Sistine chapel. 

The Michelangelo that Raphael painted is very muscular and is similar to the sibyls and prophets Michelangelo painted on the Sistine chapel ceiling. 

Here is a photograph of Jeremiah by Michelangelo. 

(http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Prophets.html)

The Vatican museums also houses a collection of modern religious works by artists like Diego Rivera, Francis Bacon, and Jacob Lawrence. This one is by Botero. Now, many people don't like his work, but I think this piece is just really fun. Everything seems to have been stretched, the priest, the trees, even the chubby cow. 

The collection of Egyptian art is fantastic! I really like these urns.  

The Belvedere courtyard was originally planned by Bramante, yet his project was built on top of and the existing lawn is much smaller than his original plan. 

This is one of the most famous ancient Roman sculptures today. The entire collection of ancient Roman artifacts is really incredible. 

The famous stairwell! The entire spiral staircase is covered in signs that say "Watch your step!" since each step gets bigger as you go down and the spiral closes. 

Noto!

Before leaving Sicily and returning to school I went to Noto. This small town was built in the late 1600's after an earthquake destroyed the city. The new city of Noto was moved a few kilometers away from the destruction and was built in a very baroque style. 

The main street is lined with churches, government buildings, and shops.

The sky was really pink on our first night! 

The balconies on the fancy palazzi have awesome figures like these horses. Others have mermaid looking people or little putti [cherubs].












This is a picture from the top of a church tower. The staircase up was a bit treacherous, but we made it to the top.

Cow!

We drove to visit the old, destroyed town of Noto. This was the view from the top of the town wall. As you can see, it was a very strategic spot for a town. 

Dad dropped his camera lens protector and it rolled under the fence and down a few feet. I climbed under the fence for it. 

I was so sorry to leave Sicily, but I know I will have to come back eventually. Maybe in the summer next time for some swimming and more sunshine.