Zai Jain!

The Bund in Shanghai...doesn't really look Chinese but it is...really!

The Bund in Shanghai

Yes, I’m very creative. Zai jain is how you say good-bye in Chinese.

I’m in Australia now. Made it to the warm! Whew. But since I’ve only been here a little this post is actually about China.

When should I plan my trip to China you ask? Well, if you go this time of year (i.e. winter) you don’t have to fight with hoards of tourists at the popular site. This was fantastic. However. There is no central heating (mind you this only applies to Shanghai and surrounding areas. I’m sure other places in China are also like this but I heard Beijing has central heating and the south of China isn’t even as cold, but this post is about my limited Shanghai visit). It’s not too bad; you can bundle up when you’re outside. Long johns recommended. But when you get back and go indoors and it’s just as cold inside, it can really break your spirit. But if you come in the summer it’s tourist city, most of them from China. Sounds like crazy time!

We enjoyed the aquarium, but felt it was a bit pricey for China and not really any better than Vancouver’s. Although this one had penguins…I want one!!! Other sites in Shanghai worth seeing are the Yu Yuan gardens. Surrounded by huge market, with multiple starbucks (boo,in the middle is a beautiful garden full of rockeries, which are everywhere in China and are awesome. And the other great thing we saw in Shanghai was the fake market. Too much fun! Vendors vying for your attention everywhere, trying to sell you watches, scarves and purses. Go just for the fun of bartering, but skip it if you’re on a tight budget…it’s so much fun you’ll keep buying haha.

The main rockery in the Yu Yuan Gardens, Shanghai

The main rockery in the Yu Yuan Gardens, Shanghai

Ni hao!

1001 Buddhas! (I'm the one) in the Shanghai Museum

Ni hao! (that’s hello in Mandarin, FYI)

So really loving Shanghai so far. Yesterday was a bit rough finding our way to the couch surfers. We managed to get here 5 hours after our flight landed. Note to travelers: double check the address with your couch surfer. One digit wrong and you can drive around for hours! Luckily the cabbies here are amazing! Plus more than one random person on the street saw our confused looks and gave us a hand, either translating, telling the cabbie where to take us, or letting us use their cell phones. Thank you people of Shanghai.

So if you ever come to Shanghai, the people here are really quite helpful. But, cars don’t actually yield to pedestrians, walking sign or not! We’ve gotten the hang of it pretty quickly, it’s almost an art form, and would be beautiful except for the constant horns. Our hosts have told us there’s basically no crime either. It is pretty smelly, but there’s people cleaning the streets everywhere so at least it looks clean (whether it is or not, well that’s another topic).

Also, when traveling with a lot of luggage like we are, make sure you have wheels on your luggage. Lesson learned the hard way. Will be buying wheely luggage before I leave Shanghai. Don’t make my mistake! Your arms will thank you.

And my final note, couch surfers are awesome. Ours have been so helpful and really a delight to hang out with. Give them a try on your next trip!

Light Pollution

Happy 2009, the International Year of Astronomy!

A new form of pollution has been brought to my attention in the newest issue of the journal Nature, which highlights the International Year of Astronomy. Light pollution. At first this seemed like some wacko idea brought up by astronomers to drawn attention to their discipline. But after reading an article by Malcom Smith, I’ve started to think a bit more of this idea.

Smith’s article discusses the excessive amount of light emitted by cities at night via empty sky scrapers, street lights, etc. Did you know 1/5 of the earth’s population can’t see the Milky Way because of light pollution? Two thirds of us in North America are denied this sight. Light pollution can also interfere with bird migration patterns. Migrating is not easy, we really shouldn’t make it harder on those poor birds. There was also a potential connection mentioned in the article between light/dark cycles and our bodies ability to ward off cancer (this requires more research, but it sure gets you thinking!).

So another totally unexpected (by me anyway) reason to turn off the lights.

So if you happen to be the CEO of a business that’s in a sky scraper, or a city planner, or a mayor, or something of that sort, think about putting some policies in place to prevent excess light pollution. It probably will only save you money in the end. And if you’re not, turn off your own lights. Maybe go to bed a little earlier. If you’re watching TV, do you really need both of those lights on? Or have a romantic dinner over candles. Aw. If you work in one of those aformentioned sky scrapers, talk to the boss man about not leaving lights on at night. Lots of ways for you to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy.

ARGH

He did it…

WHITE HOUSE REMOVES PROTECTIONS FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES

…and it will come into affect 9 days before Obama takes office. This makes it very, very hard for Obama, who wants to reverse the rule, to do just that.

That’s ok, science doesn’t mean anything anyway. Why should you take into account decades of sound research? Science is just voodoo mumbo jumbo, right Bush? If you don’t understand it, fear it. *sigh*

If you happen to be a United States citizen, please, PLEASE write to your congressman/woman to tell them how you feel about this. They can stop it. The West Virginia representative wants to envoke the Congressional Review Act, which will allow congress 60 days to review this rule and they can over turn it and prevent it from turning our planet into a wasteland. WRITE IN! Do you think if I pretened to be one of their constituents they’d figure out that I’m not…

Couch Surfing

Looking to travel? About to book at hotel room? STOP. Are you aware of couch surfing?

I’ve been a couch surfer since May. My roommate and I hosted people from all over the world! Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, California and Oregon. And they were all lovely.

How it works: You create a profile on couchsurfing.com, giving details about you, your views on life, interests, and much much more. If you’re looking for couch, you just search the area you’re going to and you get a list of surfers. You read the profiles, look at references left by other surfers and email them asking if you can stay there.

It’s a great way to travel on a budget, get great local advise, and meet some really great people. There’s also a lot more you can do with the couch surfing network. There are regular get-togethers of couch surfers in your area, common interest groups, you can search for travel companions and just meet great people.

There’s definitely a degree of trust required. There are processes on the site to verify people are who they say they are and you can see what others have said about them. Give it a try! It’s been very rewarding experience for me as a host and I’m about to get my first experiense as a surfer when I travel to China. I’ll let you know how it goes!