I’m not very hip. I shower most days and try not to look too shabby from day to day, but I’m not one of the painted masses, clubbing the nights away and choosing restaurants not by the cuisine but by who else might be there. (more…)
shanghai
Moving mountains by bike
Snapped from a taxi near Jing’an temple. Not a rare sight here…well, this pile was bigger than usual. Much much bigger.
I think this trike’s loaded with fish crates. I’m guessing they’re empty now and she’s on her way to recycle them. Peggy Liu from JUCCCE told me that China has 1/4th the consumption per capita of the United States, and though that figure includes those millions of Chinese who are still off the power grid, the recycling micro-economy is a free market force for materials conservation.
Taxis were doing some pretty dangerous things to get around the bike. One thing is always true of these junk haulers, they’re never in a hurry.
Kissho of Tokyo: how not to eat
We’ve managed to eat at every restaurant at the city shop complex on Tianyaqiao Lu and Xingeng Lu, except the Applebees, Babydoll–a restaurant apparently geared specifically for Girls’ Night Out–and Kissho of Tokyo.
Here are some tips, from me to you, to help you learn how to avoid the landmines of surprise and dissappointment you may encounter if you choose to dine at Kissho of Tokyo.
Tales of woe from the backseat
We are two of the few people who move into an unfurnished apartment in China. The housing system works such that every building is a condoplex, and slumlords buy up apartments and rent them, furnished, to the plebes, for massive profit. This system has it’s benefits–no one really loses money when the system demands every 10 year old building be torn down, but it has drawbacks as well: our landlord is a real ‘see you next Tuesday.’
Shanghai Streets
I attempted to venture to B&Q, China’s answer to Home Depot, down to the orange aprons and questionable advice from scruffy looking guys who really should know what they’re talking about. I set out with a printed address, hoping to score some simple things: extension cords, light bulbs, vacuum bags, etc, but lo, was I to be punished. Rule #1, anything that should be easy, isn’t.
