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It is 11:15 PM and Debbie and I are at the airport awaiting a flight from Shanghai to Manila. Getting to this point was a little eventful.

To begin the day we went to the highest observation tower - the top of the Shanghai Financial Center. Although the view was obscured due to limitted visibility over the city, the building itself is breath-taking.

We attended church with our hosts Todd and Shandy, then grabbed a bite to eat - mexican food, of all things. A few hours together, prayer and then departed.

This is where the fun begins. We catch a taxi to the subway station. Then we head out on the 50 minute ride to the airport. At least that was the plan. At nine o'clock we were escorted off the subway, because the line closes down at 9 PM. Local entrepreneurs mascerade as taxi drivers and not knowing the system, we fell for it. A man grabbed our bags, headed out of the subway station and then darted into a back alley.

Debbie is not feeling so well at this point, but we stand in the dark and bargain with the driver, not knowing if anything is to be believed. We settled on 80 RMB and he throws our bags in the trunk.

The drive is at breakneck speeds, Debbie is stressed. The sort of it - he drove us right to the counter. We jumped out, everthing was fine and I was glad to tip the guy.

Now we leave a city we have grown to like immensely. On to Manila and the ministry of Greg Lyons.

Bad news just before we left. One of our team from Germany did not have a valid passport that would allow travel outside the European Union. Bummer. Marco just called and informed us that he can't leave the country.

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Still pretty exhausted from the heavy walking the previous day, we stayed in Shanghai today and visited the people's square and main shopping boulevard - Nanjing Road.

You will find the architecture very modern, stylish and extremely diversified. The governmental buildings are tastefully done, even though they do appear to have a certain political flair. Outside one of the buildings was a sole dissenter - a woman holding a speech to a crowd of no one. Pointed toward the building, she held her manuscript and in tasteful form, read her issues. It did not appear that the wheels of government were overly concerned.

The promenade is a collection of western style shopping centers. It appears to be more than just shops, but a whole collection of malls - possibly a dozen malls, each with another thirty stores.

Dinner was superb at Madame Zhus' kitchen. Once again we had a wide assortment of dishes - marinated beef, steamed fish, Peking duck, bean curd, steamed broccoli.

The impressive skyline of Shanghai was magnificent. Buildings are lit until 10PM and make a true easel of colors. Todd and I went out with temperatures at 0 celcius, but the wind chill made shooting photos desiring a warmer evening. Memories that will last a lifetime.

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Friday we took a bullet train to Hangzhou (I've been told to pronounce it Hong Joe, according to Debbie). The train reached speeds of 350 kilometers per hour (exceeding 200mph). This is reportedly the oldest city in China, if you can believe the internet.

One thing is for certain - the city and lake are beautiful, the people are even more enjoyable. This is one of the cities where Hudson Taylor set up camp, so it had particular fascination to me.

The delight was to sit down and shoot pictures of the crowds that were gathered on the boardwalk around the lake. Whenever you shoot photos or video, groups of 25-30 gather around the foreigner to see what is in the lcd screen. It was delightful to see how congenial both young and old truly were. Debbie's light red hair seemed to be a point of fascination for many. People will stop and stare, plus circle around for a better look.

Debbie and I have not laughed so hard for an entire day in quite a while. Hangzhou provided us with much enjoyment and many new memories.

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Today it was a light day - the first rainy day of the trip. Nothing major, just something you didn't want to be hanging out in.

The highlight today was getting a new Sigma 24mm, 1.8 lens. What a sweet piece of glass. Love the images that it is putting out. Less light is required, meaning I can shoot in low light conditions.

Debbie went with Shandy to get her pedicure. I was invited, but that was simply too much.

Dinner tonight with the Bolton's was a delight. The chopsticks are starting to work out. Love everything about the host culture so far.

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Today was filled with beautiful gardens and shopping at knockoff stores.

The details at the crafted gardens was immaculate. Even though we are here in the winter, it is apparent that this place must be absolutely gorgeous when all the folliage is in complete bloom. The garden we attended in an older section of town, was built in 1760 after a bumper crop. The owner had a serious bent for a quiet place inside of a push and shove neighborhood.

Shopping in Shanghai is an experience for itself. There is a drama with every purchase. People chase you down inviting you into their shop. If you do not find anything you want, they take you to a "friend's" store.

Once you find something of interest, the bargaining begins. The merchant pulls a calculator and tells you about the special price they are going to give you - it is the year of the rabbit, so I am going to give you a happy new year price. They show you a price in the calculator, then whack that in half.

Generally, you start at somewhere about a third of the given price. They will counter, and you can decide if you will budge. The drama has to continue: Be prepared to walk. Until you walk away, you have not shown that you are serious. They will let you go ... eight feet out the store, then run after you. You will get your price.

Crazy, yet fully enjoyable.

Although Debbie kept giving me the stink-eye, I ordered a pork dumpling off a street corner vendor. I just gotta do it. She ate, but I still have not heard the end of it. Seriously, it was great and even six hours later there are no ill effects.

Debbie did insist on chasing the dumpling with a drink from Starbucks. Some are just not destined for adventure.

  1. First day in Shanghai